HOW TO GROW: Summer Squash

[canesisters]

I thought I'd start a couple of "HOW TO" threads that would gather together some basic info on growing some basic garden veggies.

SO! How do you grow Summer Squash? I'm thinking of those yellow, curved ones that are SOOO good fried up with some onions and potatoes.

Although I'm sure there are many more that fall into that category.

Do you start them indoors or do they do well seeded directly in the garden?
How close can you place them? What happens if you put them too close?
Early in the season? Late in the season? All season long?
What are the main pests/diseases to watch for? And what do you do about them?
When are they ready to harvest?
Whats your favorite way to cook them?
How do you preserve them?


Newbie here! But this is what I did this year.
Mid April (in southern Virginia) I ran out of space in my garden so I took a big pot that had cherry tomatoes last year and dumped it on the driveway. I mixed in some compost and some new topsoil and refilled the pot. There were no real planting instructions on the seed packet so I put 2 seeds into each of three 1 deep holes. I figure that if they all sprout, Ill thin them out.
Will let you know how this works for me.
So what works for you?

 

[897tgigvib]

Summer Squash are a relatively simple vegetable plant to grow, and so are a good one for a beginner or for anyone who enjoys fresh summer squash.

Summer Squash are the unripe fruit of squash. Most all Summer Squash are Cucurbitaceae Cucurbita Pepo. These include types such as Summer Crookneck, straightneck, zucchini, cocozelle, marrow, patty pan, oh, and probably some my brain isn't thinking of at the moment.

But there are also a few possible confusions to clear up. Pepo also includes regular orange halloween pumpkins like connecticut field and howden, and also vegetable spaghetti, acorn squashes, again, some im forgetting, and it also includes some of the "small" gourds.

Another important point of confusion is that some other species of squash, and even of other genera are harvested and eaten the same as summer squash. These have different ways of growing and should have their own how to grow thread. Included among these are certain Tromboncino squashes that are very closely related to Butternut Squash, a fine delicacy mainly in Italy.

All that confusion aside, Summer Squash is simple to grow.

They begin to get harvested about 2 months after the seed is set in warm moist soil. Since they are relatively quick to produce like that, for a modest harvest, even up in zone 3 they often can be planted outside, but for a longer harvest that far north should be started inside.

So Summer Squash can be started indoors or outdoors.

Most Summer Squash varieties grow in what they call Bush fashion. That simply means they only make a very short vine by season end, a foot or maybe 2 foot long at most in long season areas, and then only if given plenty or too much nutrients.

To plant outdoors, make sure to give each plant enough room. They can still create a plant 3 feet around in diameter or so. Summer Squash are plants that enjoy warmth and brightness. Being tender, the slightest frost can kill a young plant, and at season's end a good frost will finish the plant off.

Their seeds sprout best in warm soil, so not only should your last spring frost be done, the soil should be warm. That's usually a few weeks after the last frost.

Prepare your good garden soil so it has good tilth, that is, looks, smells, and feels good. Mixing in a bit of bone meal and compost is always good, and good drainage is important.

Don't put the seeds any closer than 3 feet apart, though some gardeners might have their ideas about distance.

It is good to plant 2 seeds near each other separated by a couple inches, especially if the seed is old or questionable, or if your soil is not as warm or good as hoped, or if perhaps you tend to have seedling losses from birds or other seedling snatchers out there. Later, in a week or 2, use scissors to cut the weaker or smaller one so you have a single plant per spot. Some folks will grow the 2 together anyway. If the soil, weather, and light is good that's ok too. If you plan to do that, give them a bit more space between each of them paired.

They will want watering, especially when it warms up. A cool spell may slow their growth some. A few half doses of fish emulsion in their first month will help them grow. Make sure they have plenty of air circulation. Some varieties may get Powdery mildew on their leaves. That is worsened by poor circulation and damp conditions, and happens more if grown in the same area year after year. Most varieties are resistant however, and will not get it bad, and will grow anyway. Actually, by season's end powdery mildew will probably be there. Just be clean and neat, and rotate crop families. That's the ...ceae name.

I guess another problem can be vine borers. I've never had them. Others can tell about them better than me.

Keep the seeded area moist until they sprout, and continue with nurturing the baby seedlings, mostly with softly watering.

After about 50 days they will first make male flowers. A few days later they'll make female flowers.

A mistake many beginners have is letting their summer squash fruit grow too big. Harvest most kinds at 6 inches or so long. The fruit should still have a slight, very slight, fuzziness, some kinds more than others. Most kinds will twist off. You can use pruning shears if you want to. Careful of the leaf stems as they may have spininess to them. It is easy to break a leaf while harvesting them. Try not to, but don't worry too much if you get one or two. Harvesting twice a week or even more often may well happen, so have your zucchini bread recipe handy if you planted more than a few plants and are having a good season.

To start them indoors, time it so they will be planted outside after frost, and again, it is best if the soil is warm, but cool soil is ok, just get slower growth at first. Usually 2 to 5 weeks in the flat is good. I plant squash seeds less than an inch deep. Others may go deeper.

Careful with the roots when you transplant them outside. If in doubt, shade the newly transplanted plants for a day or so from the afternoon sun.

Starting indoors for summer squash is mainly for short season areas, but in longer season areas, some folks simply prefer to get store bought seedlings and stick them in the garden.

I'm sure I forgot a lot of things, but that's the basics of Summer Squash.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Different pests will go after them but the two I am much too familiar with are the squash vine borer and the squash bug.

The squash vine borer adult looks like a wasp. It lays an egg and when the egg hatches the larva eats its way into the center of the stem, normally pretty close to the ground. Then it eats the middle out of the stem until the plant dies.

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/squashvborer.html

The squash bug is a stink bug. It lays clusters of eggs that hatch into nymphs. These nymphs suck the juices form the plant. The nymphs grow into adults that suck the juices from the plants. They are also known to spread a wilt disease. The nymphs and adults are really hard to control by insecticides because they suck the juices, not eat the plants. You cant get the insecticides in the juices so using insecticides is usually pretty ineffective.

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/squashbug.html

 

[digitS']

Squash bugs are good candidates for pyrethrin insecticides.

They are especially sneaky pests :/ and will scurry under the squash stem and hide, when they see you coming! That doesn't work too well for them with pyrethrin. That will essentially gas the bugs wherever they are hiding. The "knock down" isn't necessarily a "knock out," however. They may wake up after awhile and climb back onto the plant. Since their eggs are on the underside of the leaves, you may look for those and squish them but be prepared to go back in a week or so and spray the plants again if you use pyrethrin. I don't think it will kill the eggs.

I have tried spinosad spray on the squash bugs the last couple of seasons and that seems to work. Once again, try to get under the plants when you see scurrying squash bugs because there are likely many hiding. Both of these are organic sprays, pyrethrin & spinosad, and both are quite different so you could even give the pest the old one two punch!

Mildew is often a problem and since summer squash likes warm weather and is quick, as Marshall notes, you can plant it a little late in the season. I like to have started plants and set them out like between the early cabbage about the 1st of July. The early varieties of cabbage will be harvested by then, or soon after, and the spacing is about right for summer squash. If the older squash plants (sown or set out in May) begin to get sick with mildew, they can be pulled. The young plants might well also show signs of mildew in a bad year but that probably won't slow them down. They will produce just before frost here.

Of course, if it isn't a bad mildew year . . . you can end up with both sowings producing thru September! That's when you can start harvesting them to leave on your neighbors' doorsteps and, overnight, in their unlocked cars! Oh, and it bears repeating to circle those plants at least twice a week. Sometimes, the squash are a little difficult to see but, for sure, they mature very quickly and you probably want them young.

Steve

 

[Kassaundra]

I love zuchini it is my spaghetti since I cannot eat wheat, and I am in a constant struggle w/ squash bugs. I have found them to be water phobic, I take a chicken or two and a water hose I spray the base of the squash plants and ground around when I do that the squash bugs run up the stems and leaves to get away from the water, this is where my "trained " chickens come into play they greedily eat all the fleeing squash bugs for me. Win/win free chicken protien food and getting rid of a horrible pest. (my yard and garden are completely "icide" free)

 

[baymule]

Good posts! I HATE borers! Your big beautiful plant suddenly wilts and dies. Look around the base of the vine for brownish "poo," that means you have a squash borer. I have never done it, but it is reccommended to carefully cut the vine open and get the worm out. You can also mound dirt over the vine as it grows, it will put out roots. That way if a borer kills the section next to the original roots, you stand a chance of saving the plant.

Cooking squash........I'm Southern........FRIED!!
Slice thin, I use a mandolin, drop in cold water. Then lift each slice, shake off excess water and roll in cornmeal. I place them all on a plate until I have cornmealed them all, then I fry in hot oil until browned on both sides. Place on a plate, salt and eat!

Zucchinni Pie!!!!

I experimented with my food saver last year. I blanched sliced squash in boiling water-big mistake. It was too juicy for the bag to seal. I froze the blanched squash, then put them in food saver bags. Still a PITA. So I spread the sliced squash one slice thick on cookie sheets and oven blanched until steam rose from the squash. I let it cool then packed in food saver bags. That was MUCH better! Then I just sliced the squash and without blanching it, packed it in food saver bags. I marked the bags, so I would know which was which.

This winter, I cooked both blanched and unblanched. I could tell no difference! I will NOT be blanching squash this year! And if you don't know, frozen squash turns to mush. Yeah--mush. The taste is still there, but the texture is somewhere between baby food and oatmeal. Lightly steamed in butter with onions is ok.......... Something else I learned......completely thaw the food saver bag. Liquid will be sloshing around in the bag......cut off a corner and twist the bag, letting the water run out. Really wring it out. The more liquid you can get out of it the better. Then peel the slices apart, roll in cornmeal and fry as described above. The squash will be CRISPY! We liked it even better than fresh. No more MUSH!!


Our squash vines never make it to first frost. They make it to the first 100 degrees! They burn to a crisp long before we ever see a frost. Last year I tried a fall planting but it cratered. Never got a single squash from it.......I'll try again this year.

I started mine indoors on Feb 23. They are blooming now, loving the sunshine and are huge. I can't wait for squash!

 

[Kassaundra]

I always get most of mine to first frost, they don't seem to mind the 100+ degrees for 3 months like most other garden veggies.

I do have a new strategy this year though for easier more effective watering. In the areas I am planting my squash I am digging a large "bowl" shape out w/ sloping edges, in the mid height of the slope I am planting the squash seeds around the ring, as the bushes grow I will guide them outwards and fill the bowl w/ water to hopefully water deeper less often and more successfully. This is a first attempt and an idea from my own head so do not know how successfull it will be.