Cucurbita pepo
Origin: Palestine
Improvement status: Landrace
Seeds per packet: ~20
Germination tested 12/2024: 95%
Life cycle: Annual
Our absolute favorite summer squash are the pale kousa-type zucchini found across the Middle East and also in parts of Latin America (as a result of immigration from the Middle East). While most of those, like the Syrian 'Homs Kousa' strain we offer, are very pale green when immature and often fully white when mature, this Palestinian kousa is strikingly different. It also grows on sprawling, vining plants, but its fruit are mostly dark green with lighter stripes, and these stripes may ripen to yellow or orange as it matures. The fruits have a similar size and shape to the more familiar kousa types (thicker and stouter than the average Italian zucchini), and they are also similarly delicious. One classic recipe, Kousa Mahshi, sees the fruit stuffed with rice and meat and cooked in a rich tomato-based broth.
We're grateful to be able to offer this variety from the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library for the first time in this country. With Palestinian lives and culture under threat as never before, preserving Palestinian crops like this one has never been more urgent. 25% of the packet price of each packet sold will support the important work of the Seed Library.
Our seed was grown by our friend Brennan Henry Allsworth in Decorah, Iowa.
