Upper Ground Sweet Potato Winter Squash Seeds (Cucurbita moschata cv.)

Harvested from the gardens at Monticello.
This rare heirloom is a rugged variety that is tolerant of hot, dry weather, rendering it especially well-suited to the South. The vines are vigorous, with large, dark, metallic green-striped leaves, and it produces an abundance of medium-large, round-to-bell-shaped, tan-skinned fruit and moist orange flesh that resembles that of the sweet potato, hence the name. In 1790, Thomas Jefferson sent to Samuel Vaughan Jr. seed of a melon species resembling a pumpkin and tasting like the sweet potato, calling it "potatoe-pumpkin." The Upper Ground Sweet Potato Winter Squash can weigh up to 20 pounds when ripe.

Direct sow seeds in hills or rows after the last spring frost; for hills, sow 6-8 seeds per 12"-wide hill, then thin to the best 3 plants per hill. To grow in a shorter season, start indoors 3-4 weeks before last frost. Approximately 10 seeds per packet.