54503 - Cucuzzi (Zuchetta, Guinea Bean)
(Zuchetta, Guinea Bean, Cucuzza) (Lagenaria siceraria) 60 days. [Italian heirloom, grown by Jefferson at Monticello.] Pale green fruits up to 36 in. long, for best tenderness harvest at 6-12 in. Fruits milder than luffa. Bug-resistant plants are a great zucchini substitute. Normally very vigorous, but had a shorter season during 2013’s cold, wet summer. Big sprawling vines up to 20 feet long, best planted on the edge of the garden; at Monticello they’re grown up a sturdy 10-ft. tall wooden arbor.
