How to Grow Squash

Squash is divided into two types--summer squash and winter squash. The most popular is summer squash which has a softer skin. Winter squash has a hard shell. Both types grow on vines and both have yellow flowers. You can recognize mature summer squash by their mature color. The ideal size of summer squash is one-and-a-half to two inches in diameter. Scallop summer squash are ideal at three to four inches in diameter. Growing summer squash is easy with these simple steps.

Things You'll Need

• Garden
• Water
• Summer Squash Seeds or Seedlings
• Fertilizers
• Mulch
• Organic Insecticide as Needed

Instructions

1. Begin indoors one month before the last frost. Sow summer squash seeds in peat pots or cell trays one-half inch deep.

2. Place three seeds per pot or cell. Later thin to one squash plant once squash seedlings are established.

3. Transplant seedlings outdoors when the danger of frost is past and soil temperatures are between 70 and 90 degrees.

4. Grow summer squash in a corner of the garden and train the vines to grow outside of the garden. You can also plant summer squash about two feet apart in rows that are two feet apart or plant in hills. Set one plant per hill and space the hills four to five feet apart. Make the hills by mounding topsoil, compost and rotting manure.

5. Water regularly, especially in the hot, dry summer months.

6. Dust for Squash Vine Borer, Squash Bugs and Cucumber Beetles with an organic insecticide as needed.

7. Harvest summer squash often by clipping them off the plant. Do not pull them off.

Tips & Warnings

• If planting summer squash from seeds, germination will take six to ten days.

• Summer squash needs three months of warm, frost-free conditions to produce fruit.

• Squash plants reproduce very quickly. Only one or two plants are needed for home use.

• Summer squash will last up to 14 days if stored between 40 to 50 degrees, with high humidity.

• Do not water the foliage because that causes mildew. Also watering summer squash in the early morning helps prevent mildew.

• To avoid damage to the squash plant, cut the summer squash from the vine instead of snapping it off.