{"id":971,"date":"2019-08-30T15:20:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T15:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?page_id=971"},"modified":"2019-10-07T02:20:09","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T02:20:09","slug":"summer-squash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/30\/summer-squash\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Squash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cucurbita pepo var melopepo<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong>: The squashes originated in the Americas and have been cultivated\nfor over 5000 years. The summer squash are a group of varieties that are eaten\nwhile the fruit is immature and soft skinned. They are called summer squash to\ndifferentiate them from the longer lasting winter varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer squash are one of the most popular\ncrops for home gardeners. Just a couple of plants can produce more fruit than\nthe average family can eat and they have a reputation for being so productive\nthat it\u2019s hard to keep up with them. They are actually something of a gardeners\njoke and countless magazine articles about them open with some ostensibly\nhumorous variation on the theme that everyone eventually has so many they have\nto resort to desperate measures to get rid of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease\nof growing<\/strong>: In warm weather summer squash are\nproductive, fast growing and very easy to grow. They are not so easy if the\nweather is cold, or if they are attacked by hordes of squash vine borers,\nsquash bugs and cucumber beetles. These pests can make life difficult for the\nunsuspecting squash grower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You always see summer squash seedlings for sale at garden centers,\nbut there is little point in buying them. The plants will be happier if grown\nfrom seed and it will cost a lot less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutritional content<\/strong>: Summer squash aren\u2019t particularly nutritious, they contain\nvitamin A, folate, potassium and a small amount of manganese. They don\u2019t\nprovide many calories either, only about 75 per pound (any time a food grows\nvery quickly it will be low in calories).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Summer Squash<\/strong>  
Seed facts<\/strong> Germ temp: 60 (65 – 85) 100\u00b0F
Germination time: 3 – 10 days
16 days \/ 59\u00b0F
6 days \/ 68\u00b0F
4 days \/ 77\u00b0F
3 days \/ 86\u00b0F * Optimum
Germination percentage: 75+
Viability: 3 to 6 years
Weeks to grow transplants: 3 – 4
 
Planning facts<\/strong>
Hardiness: Tender
Growing temp: 60 (65 \u2013 75) 90\u00b0F
Plants per person: 1
Plants per sq ft: \u2153  

Planting<\/strong>
Start: 2 wks before last frost
Plant out: 3 wks after last frost
Direct sow: 2 wks after last frost
Succession sow: Every 4 – 6 weeks  

Harvest facts<\/strong>
Days to harvest: 50 – 120
Harvest period: 12 weeks
Yield per plant: 15 – 20 fruits
Yield per sq ft: \u00bd – 2 lb   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Crop value:<\/strong> Summer squash can be very productive, but they take up quite a\nbit of space and aren\u2019t very nutritious. All of this means they rate fairly low\non the self reliance scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate:<\/strong> Squash originated in the tropics and need warm weather. They can\u2019t tolerate any frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH 6.0 – 7.0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer Squash is a hungry and fast growing crop that produces a\nlot of biomass. To do this it needs a fertile soil with lots of organic matter,\nso that it retains moisture, but drains well. It doesn\u2019t do well on acid or saline\nsoils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil preparation<\/strong>: Squash have a very vigorous root system, which may go down 6\nfeet in its search for nutrients. Add 2\u02dd of compost, or aged manure, to the top\n8\u02dd of soil, to supply nutrients and to increase its ability to hold moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soil is poor you can plant into individually amended holes\n(you won\u2019t need many). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traditional method of sowing squash in hills probably\noriginated to help the soil warm up faster and to provide good drainage. Prepare a hill by digging a hole 12\u02dd deep by 18\u02dd wide and half filling it with\ncompost. Return all of the soil to the hole to form a small mound or hill.\nGenerally these should have a slight depression in the top to aid in water\nabsorption otherwise they can be hard to water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might try growing squash on the site of an old compost pile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where<\/strong>: Squash are large plants that take up a lot of room, but make up\nfor it by being very productive. You may only get one row (or two offset rows)\nof plants in a wide bed. I like to put them at the edge of the garden, where\nthey act as a buffer zone with the rest of the garden. This is definitely the\nplace for the vining types, as they can be allowed to wander off into vacant\nspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the squash must\nhave full sun for good growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rotation<\/strong>: Don\u2019t plant squash where any other member of the Cucurbitaceae<\/em>\n(cucumber, melon, pumpkin, winter Squash) has grown within the last 3 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: Summer squash are quite frost tender, so can\u2019t be planted until\nall danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up (at least 3 weeks\nafter the last frost). If the weather is very variable at this time, cover them\nwith cloches to keep them warm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t sow squash seed before the soil has warmed up to at least\n60\u00b0F and preferably 75\u00b0F). If it\u2019s too cold they may simply rot in the ground\nbefore they germinate. You can use black plastic to warm the soil if necessary.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Succession sowing<\/strong>: You may want to make at least\none succession sowing 4 – 6 weeks after the first one, so you can replace\ndeclining plants. If your growing season is long enough you might even do a\nthird sowing 4 – 6 weeks later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct sowing<\/strong>: Plant 2 seeds at each location and when both have germinated\nthin to the best one<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They germinate and grow fast in warm soil and soon produce\nvigorous young plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soil is only marginally warm enough, you could pre-sprout\nthe seed (take care not to damage it). Such extra effort is rarely worth it\nhowever; it\u2019s better to be patient. You can warm the soil with black plastic to\nget them off to a faster start and protect them under cloches until the weather\ngets warmer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transplants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting inside<\/strong>: Summer squash grows quickly when direct sown into warm soil, so\nthis is the preferred method of growing them. Starting indoors is usually only\nworthwhile if the growing season is short and spring growing weather is less\nthan ideal. By doing this you may be able to save a few weeks. You may also\nfind that a direct sown crop planted a month later, actually catches them up\n(and that you wasted your time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squash dislike transplanting, so should be started in individual\ncontainers. Plant two seeds in each pot and after they have both emerged, you\nremove the inferior one (pinch it off to avoid disturbing the other one).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like to use 4\u02dd pots as they allow some time before the fast\ngrowing seedlings must be planted out (you don\u2019t need many of them). If\ncontainers are smaller than this you may have to pot them up before planting\nout, which is an additional chore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting\nout<\/strong>: Plant your squash out as soon as they have\n3 leaves, as they will quickly outgrow their pots and get root-bound (if it\u2019s\ntoo cold outside then plant into a bigger pot). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To plant them make a large hole, add a shovel of compost and a\nhandful of fertilizer mix and plant as deep as their first true leaves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hills<\/strong>: They can also be planted in hills as described under Winter\nSquash.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protection<\/strong>: If cold weather threatens to return after you have planted, you\ncan cover them with cloches. In many areas it\u2019s a good idea to protect the\nyoung plants with row covers, to keep pests from attacking the young plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing<\/strong>: Squash grow into big plants that need a lot of space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beds<\/strong>: In intensive beds they are spaced 18\u02dd – 24\u02dd – 36\u02dd apart,\ndepending upon how large\nthe particular variety gets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rows<\/strong>:\nYou could plant your squash in a row down the center of the bed, spaced 18 –\n24\u02dd apart, and fill in the rest of the space with a fast growing crop. You\ncould also use 2 offset rows, to fill the bed more completely. Normally you\ndon\u2019t usually need very many plants, unless you are growing for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hills<\/strong>: The hills (which are clusters of plants) are usually spaced 36 –\n48\u02dd apart in the row, with 48 – 72\u02dd between the rows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weed<\/strong>: Once squash get going they grow so rapidly\nthat weeds generally aren\u2019t a big problem. They should be weeded while small\nhowever. It\u2019s always a good idea to keep weeds to a minimum in the beds, if\nonly to prevent them setting seed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watering<\/strong>: The plants should have evenly moist soil all the time. The\nleaves wilt readily in the hot afternoon sun to slow down water loss. Normally\nthey will recover quickly in the evening as the temperature drops. If they\ndon\u2019t they either need water or (bad news) you have a disease or pest problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to water squash is with soaker hose, as wet foliage\ncan lead to fungus diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A low tech way to water and feed the plants is to bury a one\ngallon pot alongside the plant and half fill it with compost. Then fill it with\nwater a few times a\nweek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertilization<\/strong>: If your soil is poor give the plants a liquid feed of compost tea every 2 – 4 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch<\/strong>: This is helpful with these widely spaced plants, to keep down weeds and conserve moisture. You can also use a living mulch of annual clover or hairy vetch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollination<\/strong>: The first few squash flowers to appear will\nbe males and won\u2019t produce any fruit. These will soon be followed by female\nflowers, which have what look like a tiny fruit behind them. If these are\nfertilized, the fruit will swell within 4 – 5 days. If the temperature is very\ncool (below 50\u00b0F) the females may not be pollinated and the tiny \u2018fruit\u2019 will\ndrop off. It is easy enough to hand pollinate (see Seed Saving<\/strong> below), but this is rarely necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests<\/strong>: Depending upon where you live, squash aren\u2019t much bothered by\npests, or they may be so badly affected that they may be impossible to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squash vine borer<\/strong>: Many pests simply do some\ndamage (often not serious), but this one will usually kill the plant unless\ndrastic measures are taken. If you aren\u2019t very observant, by the time the\ndamage is apparent the plant is wilting and close to death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a plant starts to wilt, the commonest\ncourse of action is to cut the plant open and pry out the worm like caterpillars\n(I don\u2019t like killing things but it\u2019s hard not to feel satisfaction when\nremoving these). The borers give away their location by the sawdust-like frass\nthat comes out of little holes in the stem. After digging out 8 or 10 borers\nthe plant may be pretty well shredded, but you might save it if you bury the stems in soil, so they can send out new\nroots. Another course of action is to inject B.T into the stem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be much better if you could prevent the borers from\nentering the plant in the first place. One idea is to lay a sheet of aluminum\nfoil \u2018mulch\u2019 under the plant, apparently it is supposed to fool the parent moth\nso she doesn\u2019t find the stems. You might also wrap the stem with aluminum foil.\nI moved away from the area (and left this pest behind) before I had a chance to\ntry this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squash Bugs<\/strong>: These small brown\nbugs can be a big problem if they get out of hand. Hand pick adults and nymphs\nand remove egg clusters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cucumber beetles<\/strong>: These\nattack the plants at all stages and are a problem not only because they eat the\nplants, but also because they spread bacterial wilt disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you manage to avoid the vine borers and the squash bugs, you\nmay be faced with a variety of other pests, including aphids, mites and\npickleworms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diseases<\/strong>: Potential problems include angular leaf spot, alternaria blight,\nbacterial wilt, downy mildew, mosaic and powdery mildew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can often avoid many of these problems by keeping the foliage\ndry and providing good air circulation. Also succession plant, so you can\nsimply remove old plants before they succumb to disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blossom end rot isn\u2019t a disease, but is caused by an irregular\nwater supply. See\nTomato<\/strong> for\nmore on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: Harvest the fruit when they are 4 – 8\u02dd long, which should be\nabout 4 – 6 days after pollination. Generally it\u2019s better to harvest them when\nstill fairly small (4\u02dd is good), though often they are still good when twice\nthis size. If you pick them while they are small it\u2019s easier to consume all\nthat are produced, so less\nare wasted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the size you like it is very important to pick the fruit\nregularly and not let any mature on the vine. Those jumbo fruits take a lot of\nenergy and can stop the plant producing\naltogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gather the edible flowers on the day they open, ideally in early\nmorning while they are still cool. Put them straight in the fridge and use them\nthe same evening. Usually you use the males for food, leaving a few to\npollinate the females.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How<\/strong>: Cut the fruits from the plant with a sharp knife to minimize\ndamage to the vine. Leave a small section of stem on the fruit to prevent\nmoisture loss and so improve\nstorage life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage<\/strong>: The fruits are best used fairly promptly. They will keep in good\ncondition in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, but by that time you will have many\nmore new ones. I don\u2019t know of a good way to preserve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed saving<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squash are cross-pollinated by insects. They will not only cross\nwith other varieties of summer squash, but possibly also with some kinds of\nwinter squash too. This means you have to have only one type flowering at one\ntime. If you have more than this you can try hand pollinating them. As with\nmost Cucurbits you should save the seed from at least 5 plants to ensure enough\ngenetic variability\n(which is a lot of seeds). Fortunately they are quite long lived (and you can\nalways eat some of the seeds too.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hand pollination isn\u2019t as difficult or complicated as you might\nimagine. Go out in the evening and find some male and female flowers that are\nabout to open the following day and tape them shut with \u00be\u02dd masking tape. It\ndoesn\u2019t matter if they are on the same plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day you open a male flower and remove its petals. You\nthen carefully open the female flower without damaging the petals, brush the\npollen-laden anthers from the male on to the pistil lobes of the female and\nthen tape it closed again (to prevent further pollination). This procedure\nshould work 50 – 75% of the time. It works even better if 2 males flowers are\nused to pollinate each female.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will soon know if the above\nprocedure has worked because a successfully pollinated flower will swell\nrapidly. If it wasn\u2019t successful the flower will soon wither and fall off. Mark\nthe hand pollinated fruit prominently so it isn\u2019t accidentally harvested and\nleave it to mature fully on the vine. This will slow down further fruit\nproduction, or may even stop it altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the fruit is fully ripe it will get\nwoody like a winter squash. It takes time for the fruit to ripen fully, so\nallow plenty of time before frost – at least 60 days). You then clean the ripe\nseed, dry it thoroughly and store in a cool dry place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unusual growing ideas<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers<\/strong>: You will often find healthy young squash\nseedlings popping up in your garden (especially around compost piles).\nUnfortunately you don\u2019t know what they were pollinated by (though you may have\nan idea if you only grew one kind) and may end up with some strange and\ninedible fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mild climates some people sow squash seed in the fall, in the\nbelief that only the most vigorous and hardy seeds will survive until the\nspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Containers<\/strong>: The bush varieties do quite well in\ncontainers, so long as they are large enough and you keep them well watered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varieties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most summer squash have a bush habit, though a few are vines.\nThere is considerable variation in the kinds of fruit they produce, in both\nshape and color (green, yellow, white). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are now a lot of hybrid varieties, especially disease\nresistant ones. I don\u2019t think they offer a huge advantage though, certainly not\nenough to give up being able to save the seed (squash are already pretty\nvigorous anyway).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nmain groups are:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zucchini<\/strong> \u2013 These produce the familiar long, green fruit you see in stores\n(though some are yellow – mostly F1 hybrids).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black\nBeauty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cocozelle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black\nZucchini<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raven<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold\nRush F1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crookneck \/ Straighneck<\/strong> \u2013 Yellow and bulbous\nwith a crooked or straight narrow neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer\nCrookneck<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cougar\nF1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zephyr\nF1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round<\/strong> \u2013 These resemble a small green melon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ronde\nDe Nice <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight\nBall F1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pattypan<\/strong> \u2013 A round and flat with scalloped edges. Some people consider\nthem among the best flavored types, though I\u2019m not sure there is much difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bennings\nGreen Tint<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter\nPan F1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scallopini\nF1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunburst\nF1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vining\ntypes<\/strong> – These aren\u2019t very common, as most\ngardeners now grow the more compact bush types. The only one of these I have\ngrown wasn\u2019t really a vine in the same way as a winter squash, it was more like\na bush type that just kept getting longer and longer (to 10 ft or more).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costata\nRomanesco<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long\nGreen Trailing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tender\nand True<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatume<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trombocino<\/strong> \u2013 This is actually a variety of C. moschata<\/em>, that grows as a\nvine and is more pest resistant than other types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squash are quite versatile in the kitchen. My favorite ways of\ncooking squash include frying in tempura and making vegetarian \u201cburgers\u201d from\nthem. Tender young ones can also be eaten raw in salads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squash flowers may be fried in batter, stuffed and baked, added to\nsoups and eaten in quesadillas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vegetarian burgers<\/strong>  

1 cup grated squash
1 cup oats
1 cup grated onion
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying
Herbs for flavoring  

This is the basic recipe. Just mix all the ingredients together and shape
into patties for frying. You can flavor them with a variety of herbs and
spices (basil, coriander, jalapeno, etc) according to your tastes and
whatever you have available.   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cucurbita pepo var melopepo Introduction: The squashes originated in the Americas and have been cultivated for over 5000 years. The summer squash are a group of varieties that are eaten … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fruit-veg","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Summer-squash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1761,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/1761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}