This is one big plant. The garden box it's planted in is 4 feet wide, so that gives you a bit of perspective.

The cute little squash it's producing are only about 5 inches across. That's a whole lot of showy leaves for very little table-ready produce. When you're using the square-foot method, like we are, big plants had better produce big yields or they're not worth their space. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how prolific these giant plants will turn out to be.

When my Mamaw was here this past weekend, she remarked that she hadn't seen this type of squash in quite awhile, but that it brought back memories for her of her family's garden years ago.

That's one of the special things about heirloom varieties -- they're not the varieties you might find in the Garden Center of your big box store, but they are varieties that seed savers have been keeping in the family for generations. This Yellow Scallop squash seed came to us via Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and is a good example of what heirloom gardening is all about.