Sibley Squash

Cucurbita maxima

Sibley

Also known as Pike’s Peak. Among the very best for flavor, this once-revered brown-seeded heirloom first surfaced in the Missouri River watershed in the 1830s and is similar to kindred varieties found among the Winnebago Indians. It is a traditional Native American variety due to the brown color of its seeds. It was passed on by Mrs. Van Dinam, who had been cultivating it for nearly 50 years since 1840 in Missouri. She is probably from Mexico. This variety was introduced commercially by Hiram Sibley of Rochester, New York, in 1887. Hiram has been growing it in Maine in recent years, selecting for trueness to type, taste and adaptability.

Vigorous 12–15' vines produce slate-blue obpyriform 1' long fruit weighing 6–8 lb, once described by Michael Pollan as “pinched in both ends and bulging at the waist.” Liberty, ME, gardener Jake Kennedy adds that these fetching fruits resemble baby seals hauled out on a ledge. Famous New England seedsman James J.H. Gregory called it “magnificent” and Goldman rates it “the best of the bananas,” a group she calls “top tier.” Ours was rich, moist, flavorful and sweet, though we sampled it in October, too soon. The quintessential storage squash, not coming into its own until January after its orange flesh has dried and sweetened. Hubbard type squash.

Sibley

Sibley

Sibley

Sibley