Maycock (Tall White Selection) Squash Landrace

Cucurbita pepo Origin: Nanticoke people (Delaware) Improvement status: Landrace Seeds per packet: ~25 Germination tested 10/2024: 90% Life cycle: Annual Maycocks were long the summer squash of the Nanticoke people, indigenous to the central Delmarva Peninsula and southern New Jersey. The name seems to be an English-sounding version of the Nanticoke word for squash, "macac." Like the Nanticoke winter squash (Cucurbita maxima), these maycocks (Cucurbita pepo) are very diverse in form and color. That diversity is the variety's strength though, making the population resilient in the face of pests, diseases, extreme weather, weed pressure, etc. Over the past 200 years, so much Cucurbita pepo biodiversity has been lost, with most commercial offerings today being ephemeral F1 hybrids. There are precipus few historic landraces still in existence — making these seeds even more important to preserve. Traditionally, maycock fruit were eaten fresh but also commonly sliced and dried for winter use.