TENNESSEE SWEET POTATO

Cucurbita argyrosperma

This squash is one of the best keepers of the Cucurbit family. Tennesee Sweet Potato produces oddly shaped off-white fruits with very pale green stripes. Flesh is fine and dry and excellent for pies, custards, curries and soups. Seed Savers' Exchange calls it “The Tofu of Squashes”, due to its mild flavor and light hue. These squash will keep until spring if properly cured!

One of the most rare and historic varieties available to gardeners, Tennessee Sweet Potato is a descendant of the old Potato Pumpkin introduced to Colonial America via slave trade and grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.

Rampant vines will consume a small garden. William Woys Weaver suggests growing Tennessee Sweet Potato between bean teepees, and not where they will encounter competition. Can also be trained over a fence or tall a-frame. Prefers to grow in fertile moist soil in full sun. Requires a long warm season to mature and cure properly.

Start seeds indoors 4 weeks before the last frost: sow two seeds 1/4" to 1/2" deep in 2” cells or 3" pots filled with moist soil. Mist generously with warm water and cover with plastic to maintain moisture and temperature. Kept warm (75°F) and moist in bright light seeds will germinate in a week or so. Thin to one per cell or pot. Seedlings will benefit from weekly applications of dilute fish and seaweed fertilizers. Harden off and tranplant into well-amended garden soil in full sun when soil is at least 65°F. Mulch seedlings with additional compost and grass or straw with marigold clippings if you have them (to deter squash bugs and vine borers). Keep bed thoroughly weeded until plants are established and can shade out weeds themselves.

Unique and historically significant. Will not cross with C. maxima, moschata or pepo. An excellent choice for beginning gardeners and seed savers in warm summer climates. Recommended.

Packet contains at least 15 seeds.