Uchiki Kuri (Red Kuri) is a winter squash that produces many smaller squashes rather than one or two huge ones.
I'm here to tell you to try it out this year.
I will list all my reasons for this below, but one of the main ones is the taste. It has a fantastic nutty flavour and is one of our family favourites now!
Easy To Grow
Above, you can see a few Uchiki Kuri plants running rampant on my allotment.
Just give this plant something to grow up and keep it well watered, and it will thrive, its nowhere near as tough to grow as something like butternut squash.
I am in the North of England, where it is often wet and cold, so if it grows well for me, I would be willing to bet will grow well for most of you out there!
Productive
Each plant can be expected to produce around five or six medium-sized squashes.
Each squash can be used roasted as a side in a meal or even turned into soups etc.
So it is easy to see how you can get a lot of food if you grow a few of these plants next to each other as I do.
Can Be Grown Vertically
Because of the smaller fruit on a Uchiki Kuri squash, they are perfect for growing vertically.
This saves you a lot of space in the garden and means you can pack them in next to each other.
This is what I do, growing four or five plants in a row and training them up a frame I built.
Taste Great
As I said before, the main reason for growing these squash is the taste.
Simply put, they are delicious. They are now my wife's favourite thing we grow, and she is already on my case ensuring I grow plenty this year.
Roasting is the common way we eat them.
We sprinkle on a little paprika, salt and then a drizzling of maple syrup before roasting them in the oven. They taste so good we often eat them alone and ditch the main course!
Store Well
They are a winter squash, so are usually stored and eaten throughout the winter.
If you store them in a cool, dry place and don't damage the skin then they can easily store six months or longer.
The thing is, I highly doubt they will last that long as you will have eaten them long before that!
Amy Crow says
Hi Daniel,
We are definitely going to give these a try this year. 2 years ago we discovered the spaghetti squash and last year the potato squash. Both were very successful growers and tasted amazing. I haven't been able to eat potato for quite a few years now, so I was very excited to experience the potato squash. We are really enjoying your hints and tips and are looking forward to trying them out.