Ovo De Ganzo 619 Pumpkin (PI 22704)(Certified Organic)

Grown by Twin Oaks Seed Farm (VA) – 120 days – Cucurbita maxima 

Growing most popular varieties of maxima squash (kabocha, buttercup, hubbard, giant pumpkin etc.) tends to be a struggle for us in Virginia. They are very susceptible to vine borers, as well as squash bugs and bacterial wilt, and sunburn for some varieties. We have, however, come across maxima seedstocks from Brazil that are more compatible with our climate. This is one of them. This seedstock stood out for its vine borer resistance and resilience in our 2025 trial of several Brazilian and Paraguayan maxima seedstocks that we sourced from the USDA seed bank. Most of the fruits are a kind of light grey-green color. Some have tinges of orange, and some may be white or darker green. Shapes vary from oblong to round/ridged, to acorn-shaped. Sizes vary a lot as well. The USDA listing gives very little information about the origin of this seedstock. It was donated to the USDA in 1957 by Toledo Prado of Instituto Agronomico de Campinas in São Paulo. There are two pictures accompanying the listing; one looks similar to the squash we grew and that we’re offering here. The other picture is of a dark green kabocha type; it appears to be there in error, but there may be some longer story and reason to it. The flavor is more vegetable and not sweet, though it does have some dryness to it. We think it could be interesting to people as an ornamental pumpkin, or for vine borer resistance breeding work, or for selection and improvement without crossing.

Ovo De Ganzo means Goose Egg in Portuguese.