King Ka Ae F4 Korean Summer Squash – Research Sample (Certified Organic)

Grown by Twin Oaks Seed Farm (VA) – Cucurbita moschata – 54 days

Cylindrical, light green summer squash with good flavor, set on productive, compact-vining plants. King Ka Ae is a Korean hybrid summer squash. The F2 and F3 generations have shown less variability than you would expect from a hybrid, though still some. We’re selecting for healthy and resilient plants, for productivity, and for longer fruits. These seeds are from hand pollinated fruits, so quantity is limited. 10 seeds/gram.

Korean summer squash is unusual in that most varieties are from the Cucurbita moschata species rather than Cucurbita pepo (the species of almost all summer squash). Moschata species squash is resistant to vine borers, a major problem for growers in the Eastern U.S. These summer squash plants do not have the bush growth habit that is standard in pepo summer squash, but the vines are compact, and they set fruit early and heavily. They also have good resistance to plectosporium blight, a major problem for pepo varieties in some areas (including at Care of the Earth Community Farm). We do not find them to hold up particularly well to downy mildew however, and the plants tend to wind down after 4-6 weeks of production. Fruits will stay tender to a larger size than the more downy-resistant Mini Paulista (a Brazilian moschata summer squash we are beginning to offer this year). Flavor is richer than regular summer squash.