Musquée de Provence Squash Seeds (Cucurbita moschata)

Cucurbita moschata “Musquée de Provence”

Musquée de Provence squash, nutmeg squash, winter squash, Provençal squash: it is impossible to confuse it with any other. Its flattened, deeply ribbed fruits, turning orangey bronze when ripe, resemble cartwheels and weigh 5 to 10 kg. This is the squash traditionally sold cut into slices at Provençal markets.

Characteristics:

• Large ribbed fruits: 5 to 10 kg, orangey bronze, highly decorative.
• Dense, aromatic flesh: deep orange, sweet and musky, with excellent cooking quality.
• Long storage life: several months in a dry place, with its flavor improving over time.
• Heritage variety from southern France, adapted to hot, dry summers.

Precautions:

• As with all cucurbits, a fruit with a very bitter taste may contain cucurbitacins, which irritate the digestive system. Always taste a small piece: if the bitterness is pronounced, discard the entire fruit.

Sowing advice:

• Exposure: full sun, warm conditions — this is a southern variety, but it performs well elsewhere with plenty of sunshine.
• Soil: rich, deep, and well drained. Given the size of its fruits, it is extremely hungry: generously add compost across the entire bed. It does not tolerate standing water around the crown.
• Method: no stratification. Sow in pots under cover in April–May at 20–25°C, or directly in the ground after the last frosts, 2–3 cm deep, with the seed placed on its edge. See how to sow your seeds.

Planting advice:

• Transplant after the frosts, spacing plants 1 to 1.5 meters apart: it is a very vigorous trailing plant that quickly occupies several square meters.

Care advice:

• Water regularly but not excessively, at the base and without wetting the foliage to limit powdery mildew. Mulching is recommended to retain moisture and limit weeds.
• Limit to 2 or 3 fruits per plant and place a board beneath each one: they are heavy and rot when in contact with damp soil.

Harvesting advice:

• Harvest before the frosts, when the stem is dry and corky and the skin has changed from green to orangey bronze. Keep 5 cm of stem: when cut flush, it rots quickly.
• Let them dry in the sun for about ten days before storing them in a dry, well-ventilated place.

Beneficial companion plants:

• It grows well with corn and climbing beans in the famous “milpa” system, as well as with nasturtiums, which divert aphids. See companion planting in the vegetable garden.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its large yellow flowers provide an important source of pollen and nectar for bees and bumblebees.
• Its immense trailing foliage covers the ground all summer, smothering weeds and protecting the soil from drying out.

Uses:

• In soups, purées, gratins, tians, or autumn desserts — pies and preserves. Its flesh holds its shape perfectly during cooking. Once cut, wrap the slice in plastic wrap: it keeps well for about a week in the refrigerator.

Symbolism:
A symbol of abundance and generosity, musquée squash evokes the warmth of summer and the culinary traditions of the Provençal region.

Harvesting your own seeds:
Take seeds from a fully ripe fruit, rinse them, and dry them flat for several days. Cucurbita moschata does not cross with zucchini (C. pepo) or pumpkins (C. maxima) — but it does cross with Butternut, its close relative. See how to save your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

The great squash of southern France, spectacular in the garden and on the table.