Squash

People are often confused about when to plant winter squash.  All squash, along with pumpkins, which are a type of squash, are cucurbits, members of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae.  All are planted in the spring after the last frost.   

They can be started earlier under lights and transplanted when the weather warms, but they do equally well when seed is planted directly into the garden soil.  

Many varieties such as butternut and acorn came to be known as winter squash because they keep well and can be stored without refrigeration for many months and eaten in the winter, long after the growing season is over.  

Most smaller squash varieties grow well in our area, particularly the winter varieties such as butternut, delicata, sweet dumpling squash, and particularly Seminole pumpkins.  A variety we have had success with is Carnival which is a cross between delicata and sweet dumpling squash.  Some squash grow as a large bush, particularly the summer varieties such as yellow crookneck, patty pan, and zucchini, while others grow on vines spreading out over a large area.  Those that vine can be pruned when they outgrow their allotted space or the vines can be picked up and tucked out of pathways.  

The squash we know as pumpkins as well as other large squash are more difficult to grow in our area with the most successful being the small sugar pie pumpkins which are great for making pumpkin pie or eating like any other winter squash. 

The long cool spring this year has been good for growing squash and we have avoided problems like vine borers and powdery mildew, which sometimes plague squash crops, particularly summer squash.  

The squash growing season in our area is not as long as in cooler climates because in addition to bugs and diseases which show up in hot weather, the squash plant will stop producing flowers when the temperature gets above 85 or 90°. So we have to grow our squash when it’s cooler earlier in the spring.  This is true of many other vegetables which produce fruit as well, such as tomatoes and peppers.  There’s not a lot you can do about the temperature, but water regularly and perhaps add some amendments to furnish more potassium or phosphorus which encourage fruiting.  See our post on soil amendments.

The other hazard sometimes experienced is inadequate pollination.  Squash have male and female flowers on the same plant.  Only the female flowers produce fruit.  Sometimes the plant will only produce male flowers.  Some reasons may be that the plant has access to too much nitrogen, it is too hot, or the plant is not receiving enough water on a regular basis.  Squash require bees for pollination, and planting pollinator attracting flowers in your garden is a way to ensure an adequate bee population.  In extreme cases, hand pollination may be necessary.  See the references below. 

What to do with all those extra male blossoms?   Cook them.  See this list of ten ways to cook squash blossoms from Food & Wine magazine.

Peggy and Linda are growing
great Zucchini squash this year
as well as other varieties of
summer and winter squash. 

See UF/IFAS articles on summer squash and winter squash for more information.