Green Hokkaido Squash

Green Hokkaido is a heritage variety from Hokkaido, Japan. It is part of the Japanese Kabocha squash type known for dense sweet meat and edible skin.

Green Hokkaido is a vigorous vining plant producing compact, round to slightly flattened fruits weighing 1–2 kg. The skin is dark green with the interior flesh being bright yellow-orange. This looks quite appealing when it is sliced. The flesh is dense and sweet with good nutty, chestnut-like flavours.

The skin is thin and does not have to be removed before cooking. Green Hokkaido is excellent for roasting in the oven, in soups, pies, purees or croquettes etc.

This variety is valued for its storage qualities and high productivity, often yielding 4–6 fruits per plant.

We found it vigorous when growing it and in 2025 it outcompeted a companion crop and took to climb the trellis meant for the other crop. It probably can be trellised to save space since it seems to like to climb, but this may not be practical since it becomes very heavy when carrying a lot of fruit.

Additional information
Cucurbita maxima was domesticated very early in South American and Mesoamerican region. Squashes like this first reached Japan in the 16th century with Portuguese traders.

In Japan they were adapted to do well in a temperate climate with cooler summers. This is why they also grow well in Northern Europe and Ireland. Hokkaido is the most northern of Japan’s four main islands and is according to Wikipedia also its coldest region.