Root Cellar Gardens in Ontario, Canada

Evalisa McIllfaterick is adapting winter squash to be more resilient to disease and mature in her short season. Evalisa is dedicated to breeding warm-weather crops for northern, short-season, conditions in her region. For the past few years, she has been working on a collaborative watermelon breeding project which is the subject of her master’s thesis. For 2024, she aims to grow out 1/8th of an acre of squash using three varieties that are important to the local community and one diverse mix of short-season varieties from Going to Seed’s seed program. She will allow these varieties to cross and evaluate for disease resistance, long storage, and taste.