Summer Squash as Winter Squash?

I have a new contemplation regarding the subject of traditional summer squash varieties that can also be used in their mature forms.  I'm aware that zucchini types can be used as marrows, and some pumpkin types can be stored for later use, but what about other varieties of summer squash like scallop squashes or yellow crookneck?

I have seeds for 6 varieties of yellow crookneck summer squash, with 4 of them being hybrids.  My plan was to grow them all together to jumble up the genetics (you know, "Landrace everything") and since I'd have very mature squash for seed collecting, what can be done with the squash?  

I also have a packet of scallop squash seeds of many colors, but all the same shape.  Same idea for planting together; same question of can they be used in mature form?

I have touched on the subject of some Pepo's as winter squash before here https://permies.com/t/226879/Pepo-Winter-Squash-list-prospects, but this year's pepo's were contaminated with a very prolific warty gourd that was supposed to be an edible pumpkin, so this years' pepo crop didn't advance as I'd hoped.  

Does anyone have experience with the Going To Seed Pepo mix?  I don't recall what was supposed to be in it?  What did you get when you grew it out?

I dont have the experience you are looking for.

I am curious how the summer squash will preform with temps under 50 degrees.

The plants may grow though fruit might be none existence or will not ripen.

What are your winter highs?

Please report how your experiment goes.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I don't intend to grow them during the winter as they will surely die. What I call "winter squash" is simply squash that has matured & is shelf stable to store & eat throughout the winter months.

Trombinco is as winter squash used as a summer squash.  According to what I have read it makes a mediocre flavorless winter squash but is a good summer squash.
This year I am growing some 'Maxidiwiac' squash from EFN.   We have had a bad growing season but I am finally getting squash.  This one looks like it could be similar to what you are describing.  It is being developed to produce a summer squash to slice and dry for winter usage but it also makes "pumpkins" if allowed to mature.  Sadly no mention of the flavor or storage ability of it are mentioned.  

I'm not sure if this is quite the info you are looking for but pumpkins & butternut squash grow late into the fall season (here in the southern USA) & both store well for months. Rinsing them thoroughly after harvest & then wiping them with a mild vinegar/water solution helps extend their shelf life even further.

Cy:  Scallop squash hold longer than you'd think, not all winter, but definitely over 2 months. Let the skins air dry well before putting them in a well ventilated space.

Tromboncino was listed above as flavorless when grown out to full size, I disagree, I like it. It's not as exciting as butternut or a good orange pumpkin, but still makes good squash lasagna etc.

I've never seen a yellow crookneck hold well, your landrace squash will be very edible when you seed them, but I'm not sure if they will store at all. Edible at the time though, definitely.

Something to consider is expectations. If you are expecting a wonderful tasting squash that will rock your socks off in midwinter, go for a winter squash. But if you want something to thicken a soup, or go into bread, your summer squashes will do wonderfully. Just don't expect them to be what they were when young, or to be magically wonderful, and you'll find you have something you can use somehow. Taste things when you cut them before you decide what you are going to do with them. That helps. Cutting it assuming "I'm going to make a pie!" is setting yourself up for disappointment. Tasting it and saying "hm, you get chopped up into soup" is way more likely to have good results.

Honey boat squash is VERY much a summer squash when picked young, winter squash when allowed to mature. I had only bought it mature before I started growing it.

:D

I saved seeds from a local moschata squash which is orange and long and thick when fully ripe. I also saved some from an exceedingly pretty smaller, green moschata, and the occasional butternut. I've ended up with the start of a landrace which give summer squash that are like a tastier, waxier version of courgette (zucchini) but which ripen into richer, creamier winter squash which store well and that we like very much but don't have as much flavour as some of the more traditional winter pumpkins.

Here are some growing in my GAMCOD bed.

This one is about the size we eat as summer squash. It looks just like a courgette and most people wouldn't notice the difference.



This one is a slightly more interesting colour and pattern, and is a bit bigger with bulgy ends. At this stage it would probably be fine to eat as summer squash, complete with skin, but the seeds might be a bit more obvious than some people might like.



And this one, which is one of the volunteers that grew from kitchen scraps I was 'Ruth-Stouting' under the mulch, is more mature and turning colour. The skin hardens up enough to allow them to store well, but doesn't go crazy hard like the cushaws sometimes do.

That's a cushaw growing right behind it, from the same bucket of kitchen scraps.



Most of them keep fine all winter, and I don't keep seeds from any that don't store. I like that it's easy to cut off a slice or two and shove the rest back in the fridge for next time, and they fit on the shelf.

I don't know if it's a local variety that I just don't know the name of, or if it's a version of Long of Naples or Longue de Nice but my own ones are gradually turning into my own variety that suits our needs and our climate and our soil.

My only experience with this is with a couple of varieties of zucchini. Okay but not great as late season squash. My wife tells me don't bother her with them! But they keep well in a cool, dry place all winter, most do not spoil. I keep a few every year in the garage and harvest seeds in the spring for planting.

After many years of being over run with summer squash, and drying slices of the zucchini Costata Romanescu, we've given up on them entirely. Instead we're growing Candystick Delicata which makes a fine summer squash when picked immature, but if you miss picking the fruits they mature into a very nice winter squash. I think most varieties of winter squash are edible in the immature, "green" stage as a "summer squash", skins and seeds included. This is what we do with any immature winter squash at the end of the season when we harvest the remnants of the patch before a killing frost. I really like dual use plantings and not feeling bad about all of the over-sized fruits anymore.

I appreciate all the info from everyone, some really good perspectives here.  Thank you for sharing your first-hand experiences.

So, turns out zucchini just turns into a winter squash if you leave it on the vine until first frost. I have kept this zucca on top of my fridge to harvest the seeds and finally got around to it Monday. Well I cut it open and the skin was hard like a pumpkin. And then the flesh inside was basically like a pumpkin.... So after scrapping it out I just baked it like a squash and made it into a curried soup. And guess what - tastes like winter squash. Huge eureka moment for me. I learned this summer how to cook the leaves and the blossoms, and now I know the giant zucca can be stored and cooked like winter squash. It's delicious and I'll absolutely let a few more go this way at the end of next season.

My longest storing winter squash 2 years ago was a pepo... a patty pan squash i saved seeds from. It lasted in good shape until i needed  the seeds.

Last years longest storing squash was a moschata that i keep ignoring. It's over a year old now, still in good condition. I really should whack it up one of these days but part of me's just curious when it will finally start to go bad! Moschatas can be decent as summer squash too.

The patty pan squash itself is insipid as a winter sqaush. Pale and not much flavour. I find zuchinis don't store as well for me, when allowed to mature. I wonder if it's the same reason i prefer eating patty pans as summer squash? I find zucchinis to be more watery than the patty pans i grow. I also find the mature  pepos to have really hard skin, which i dislike.

One of my main  criteria for seed selection is squash that last in my basement. The first few years nothing much lasted, including storage varieties.