Fresh Winter Squash

Winter squash is the vegetable that earns its place. It grows through the Alberta summer, cures in the fall, and sits in a cold room for months delivering sweet, rich, dense flesh to soups, roasts, and baked goods long after the rest of the garden is gone.

A colony garden winter squash is a different product from what comes in a plastic-wrapped half from a grocery store produce section. It has not been cut open and exposed to refrigerated air. The shell is hard and intact. The flesh inside is fresh and dense and the way it is supposed to taste when it goes into the oven or the pot.

Summerland Colony grows winter squash in their colony garden near Carmangay in Vulcan County, Alberta. Established in 2021 as a daughter colony of Clear Lake Colony, Summerland is building out fresh produce operations to serve nearby towns and customers across Alberta. Available by the pound and in 20 lb bags while the season and the storage supply runs.

Two Sizes, Two Uses

Per lb
For everyday buyers. A pound or two of winter squash from the colony garden goes into a week’s worth of autumn and winter cooking. Roast half a squash as a side dish. Scoop the flesh into a soup. Cube it for a grain bowl or a braise. The per-pound option is for buyers who want fresh colony squash in the kitchen without committing to a larger supply.

20 lb Bag
For families, cold-room buyers, and serious cooks. Twenty pounds of properly cured winter squash stores well in a cool, dry place and carries through weeks of fall and winter cooking. At 20 lbs you have enough to roast, puree, and freeze batches for soups and baking, work through a variety of preparations, and still have a few squash left in the cold room for a slow Sunday soup in November.

For buyers who want to stock their cold room with colony produce before the season closes, winter squash is one of the best buys: inexpensive per pound, long-storing, and deeply useful through the cold months.