Kabocha Squash
Black Forest Kabocha Squash is a uniform, deeply flavored variety that delivers exceptional taste in a compact, manageable package. With its striking deep green skin and golden orange flesh, each plant produces roughly four fruits weighing 3 to 4 pounds, ready to harvest in just 75 days. This is winter squash gardening distilled to its essence: reliable, delicious, and one of the finest-tasting kabocha varieties available to home growers.
Full Sun
Moderate
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18in H x 72in W
Annual
Moderate
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What sets Black Forest Kabocha apart is its remarkable consistency and flavor depth. Plants generate approximately four fruits per plant, each weighing between 3 and 4 pounds, making this a remarkably productive variety for the space it occupies. The contrast between its deep green exterior and the dense, golden orange flesh inside speaks to the quality within. Even the skin becomes delicious when roasted, a rarity among winter squashes. This is a variety bred for the cook who refuses to compromise on taste.
Black Forest Kabocha Squash shines when roasted whole or halved, the dense flesh becomes creamy and sweet, making it ideal for simple preparations where the ingredient's quality speaks loudest. It's equally at home in soups, where its texture breaks down into a silky purée. The edible skin adds depth and earthiness to these dishes, distinguishing this variety from others where skin is typically discarded. Baked, stuffed, or pureed into side dishes, it's the kind of squash that makes you reconsider what winter vegetables can be.
Start seeds indoors 2 to 3 weeks before your last frost date. Sow into seed-starting mix at proper depth, keeping soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Maintain warm conditions—standard seed-starting temperature works well for squash. Harden off seedlings gradually before transplanting outdoors.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after the last frost has passed and soil has warmed sufficiently. Space plants 18 inches apart in rows set 36 inches apart, or plant in hills 6 feet apart with 3 plants per hill. Give these vigorous vines room to sprawl; they will grow 6 feet or more as the season progresses.
Direct sow seeds after the last frost date once soil has warmed. Plant at the specified seed depth, spacing seeds appropriately for thinning or direct final spacing of 18 inches.
Harvest Black Forest Kabocha when fruits have fully developed their deep green color and the skin has hardened enough that a fingernail cannot easily pierce it. Fruits typically mature around 75 days from planting. Cut fruits from the vine with a sharp knife or pruning shears, leaving a 1 to 2 inch stem attached, this helps prevent rot during storage. Harvest before the first hard frost to avoid any damage from freezing temperatures.
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