BLUE HUBBARD

(Cucurbita maxima)  Heirloom.  Blue-grey, warted, oval fruit, with thick, bright orange-yellow, fine textured flesh.  Stores well.  Used in pies, baked or stewed.  100-120 days.  15 seeds

This fruit was carried from the West Indies to New England in 1798 by a sea captain whose name has since been lost.  A few gardeners from Massachusetts grew it, saving the seeds from year to year.  Around 1842, Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbard noticed its excellent eating qualities and handed it onto her neighbour who was a seedsman.  He named it after Mrs. Hubbard and multiplied the seed for sale.  The "Hubbard" went on to win acclaim and to become highly regarded fo its fine grained, very dry, sweet, rich flavour.