Looking for strong rooting systems in Maxima

[Thomas Pic]

Hi,

I've just sent a first overview of my observations there where I talk about the huge difference between Maxima and Moschata rooting systems in my fields.

https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/thomas-cucurbits-garden-summer-2025-some-solanaceae/3928/77?u=thomaspicard

I want strong Maximas. So what I'm gonna do?

- find known maxima strains with strong rooting systems - and retooting abilities - to crossbreed my populations with.

- continue efforts to bring in those moschata's properties in maxima by backcrossing Tetsukabuto's offsprings with Maxima and then select for that type of rooting systems.

If you know very strong maxima strains I'll appreciate your inputs. If you would like to get involved in that breeding effort, let me know. I already have some stuff advanced on the interspecific side of things.

[AndrewB]

I don't know about roots specifically, but I was most impressed with Hopi White, from Washington state from Seed Dreams. Best Maxima I ever grew.

[Thomas Pic]

Thanks for that Andrew.though I haven't seen Hopi White in any catalogue, there seems to be Hopi Pale Grey, which is probably about the same. Did you keep any seeds or know someone who could have

[AndrewB]

Hopi pale grey is different. I kept seeds,  but they are likely crossed up. Seed dreams was the best source I knew of for this variety.

https://seeddreams.blogspot.com/?m=1

https://seeddreams.blogspot.com/2008/09/squash-maxima-cucurbita-maxima.html?m=1

[Thomas Pic]

Oh thanks for insisting Andrew: as the website seemed outdated I thought sales were off. Reaching out to the owner now, who seems to sell mainly to a local level, focusing on bringing locally adapted seeds to her community 👌

[Thomas Pic]

Just had confirmation by Tessa Gowans from Seed Dreams that she is still selling seeds 🥳

[Adrian]

What do you think of that?

[Thomas Pic]

Oh yes! If that's a maxima it's what I am looking for: rerooting with fine roots and some soil sticking to it : signs of good microbial activity / capacity.

Here is an example in moschata with double primordial roots, dense fine root branching and soil aggregated around (very rare in my sandy soil)


Then the expression of this capicity seems to be also relative to growing conditions, meaning it's those plants, i.e. the most "collaborative" IN ONE PLACE,that I'm looking for. For example in my place it's the 1-5% of my maximas (though a really diverse and selected for vigor over the past 3 years modern landrace) that shows significant rerooting capacities, and always less than on your picture.

[Adrian]

Its well a Maxim (i suspected that they probably have a small percent of tetsukabuto rate).
The crossbreeding is between tetsukabuto and blue kury.
The fruits of this plant seem at the second picture.
They appeard greens and passt at blue at the end of maturity.

Unfortunately i think that this color combinaison in possible thank at heterosis between a green and a blue.
The heterosis effect can also played on the vigor of the roots.

For pollinisated the left fruit i was put a pollen of my croce between (violino rugosa x waltham) x (violino rugosa x tetsukabuto) F4

I hope really that my croce breedind is a sucess and not autofecondated!

[Thomas Pic]

Very interesting Adrian ! Actually what gave me the first insight into this strong rerooting phenomenon is, while harvesting my 200 maximas, my around 35 interspecific hybrids 3/4 maximas, originating from random crosses made by bees in my 2024 moschata patch. From Tetsukabuto too. So most of them were still alive, healthy and ... showing those rerooting capacities! Later fruiting though.

Then I went to my maxima patch and I sow that phenomenon in most moschatas, AND less appearant in the 3/4 maximas that weee in there, also originating from random Tetsukabuto crosses, but with my maxima landrace.

[Carol Deppe]

My maxima variety Sweet Meat--Oregon Homestead is a very strong rooter. One year in a field where there were lots of gophers tossing piles of soil around the SM--OH plants had new root systems on nearly every node. Without gophers and irrigated only every three or four days, in Western Oregon with usually zero rain in summer, it's necessary to toss a shovel full of soil over a node to get an additional root system. SM-OH is a very vigorous grower. Fruits are up to about 26 lbs. The spectacular flavor happens only in the West. SM--OH is available from Adaptive Seeds, Nichols Garden Nursery, and Quail Seed. It is, of course, OSSI-Pledged.

A couple of pepos that might have strong rooting ability are my variety Candystick Dessert Delicata and one of it's parents Honeyboat delicata. I have never tried Candystick under an irrigation regime that would permit rooting from nodes. (We have zero rain in summer.) However, Candystick is widely adapted, including in SE USA where most pepos don't do well because of vine borers. In addition, I had a personal communication from Mike Hessel that one of Candystick's parents, Honeyboat, was reputed to have vine borer resistance. My variety Candystick is OSSI-Pledged, of course, and is widely available, including from Adaptive Seeds, Fedco, Quail, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange,etc. Fedco Seeds ships to Canada and probably Europe