Candy Roaster Squash: A Cherokee Nation Heirloom

A vigorous vine with a history as rich as its flavor, Candy Roaster squash is one of our favorite plants to grow for clients. Pictured left is the most robust and sprawling plant we’ve grown this year (despite some vine borer trouble earlier this summer) and just as big and beautiful as the foliage is the fruit itself. Growing up to 2 feet long and weighing up to 15 pounds, each squash is like a hefty piece of art. Tan and orange-streaked skin is marked by stunning splashes of teal and green.

Bakers treasure the creamy, sweet-as-candy flesh for pie filling (forget pumpkin) and the best part is that the fruit only sweetens with age. An autumn abundance will keep for up to 6 months in cool storage, rewarding clients with comforting pies, soups, and stews all winter long.

We have the Cherokee Nation to thank for this impressive heirloom. Traditionally grown using the three-sisters farming strategy and relied upon during the winter months as an important food source, the Cherokee people have carefully bred and preserved this variety since the 1800s. In the early 1900s, Candy Roaster squash was introduced to those outside of the Cherokee Nation and is now considered culturally important to the entire Southern Appalachian region.

Because Candy Roaster squash easily cross-pollinates with other varieties and produces seeds that aren’t “true to type" (i.e. won’t grow into plants that look or taste the same as the parent) this variety is not commercially grown. Farmers and home gardeners find it difficult to save true seed and, as a result, there are now dozens of varieties and hybrids that generally fall under the “Candy Roaster” name. The Cherokee Nation has kept this endangered cultivar from becoming extinct by carefully growing their plants in relative isolation and storing seeds in their seed bank. Remarkably, in 2019, they became the first U.S. tribe to receive an invitation to deposit their heirloom seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a facility housed deep inside a mountain in Norway that preserves the world’s agricultural biodiversity.

Because it’s nearly impossible to find this indigenous variety in the supermarket, if you want to try this special squash you must seek out them out at farmer’s markets or grow your own. Read our growing and harvesting tips below!

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How to Grow

As long as you stave off squash bug and vine borer damage, this plant is fairly easy to cultivate!

Days to Maturity: 100

Seeds or Starts: Sow seeds 1” deep in warm soil after the last frost, or start seeds indoors and transplant them out 2-3 weeks later (recommended strategy.) 

Hill spacing: Plant 3 seeds per hill spaced several feet apart.  

Row spacing: One plant every 2-3 feet. Give these vigorous vines plenty of space to sprawl!

Harvest: When the stem begins to turn brown and woody and the fruit becomes hard. You should not be able to pierce the skin with your fingernail. Cure in a dry or sunny place for a week, and then store in a cool room for up to 6 months.