Quick Reference
When to Start |
Direct seed in May when forecast shows no danger of temps dropping below 45 degrees.
|
Crop Rotation |
Avoid following cucumbers, melons or any members of the pumpkin/squash family
|
How To Plant |
Plant seeds 1" deep in mounds, 4 seeds to a mound
|
Spacing and Support |
Start mounds 2-3' apart. Plants should stay compact and low to the ground and won't require any support.
|
When to Harvest |
As soon as it's big enough to eat. Harvest early and often.
|
Storage |
Will last for a week or 2 in the vegetable crisper. For long term frozen.
|
We never had much use for summer squash until we discovered zucchini noodles. My Italian grandparents would have a minor heart attack if they knew we were substituting a vegetable in place of "real pasta", but every time I eat zucchini noodles I find myself more and more surprised how much I like them. It's actually gotten to the point where I would prefer them over regular spaghetti, especially when it's covered in a good tomato sauce. You'll grow to appreciate the flavor and at the end of the meal you will have just eaten vegetables instead of a ball of dough. This is all you need to make them and you can pick one up at Target or just about anywhere that has kitchen supplies for sale.
When To Start
|
Direct seed in the garden well after fear of frost has passed. All squash varieties need serious heat so you want to start these on the later side. Seeds won't germinate until the soil is at least 70 degrees, and optimal growing temperature is 65-75 degrees.
Some people will plant squash indoors early from seed and you can buy plants at greenhouse, but don't bother. Whatever head start you gave them will be offset by the transplant shock your plant gets when you rip it's roots out of the original pot and plant in foreign soil. When you start from seed the plant gets to grow undisturbed from day 1. Summer squash is an extremely prolific producer but tends to have a shorter fruiting period than other vegetables once it reaches that stage of maturity. If you're planning to have more than one plant, consider planting half of them 2-3 weeks later than the original to keep a constant stream of them coming in instead of getting bombarded all at once. |
Crop Rotation
|
Avoid planting in the same spot that cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, or any member of the squash family grew in the previous year.
Click here to read about crop rotation and why it is so important It's important to not only avoid planting the same crop in the same spot 2 years in a row, but you also have to avoid plants in the same family as they typically draw on the same nutrients and have issues with the same pests. Click here to learn more about plant families and find a chart showing which ones are related. |
How to Plant
Gardening pro tip: Use free child labor whenever possible
|
Direct sow seeds right into the garden well after the final frost of the spring has passed. Rake the dirt into mounds to maximize the amount of dirt where the seeds will be planted. Push down the top of the mound forming a shallow bowl. almost like a little volcano. This will ensure some rainwater will collect and drop down to the seeds vs. just rolling down the side of the mound.
Seeds should be planted fairly deep, about 1" below the surface. Plant 4-5 seeds per mound. After the seeds germinate and seedlings are well established, thin each mound to leave the 2-3 strongest plants. |
Spacing and Support
|
Summer squash looks similar at first to it's winter squash cousins, but it does not grow the same. Vines will stay mostly under control and not spread all over, so giving them 3' of space between mounds should be plenty.
While they won't need any physical support, you'll need to keep an eye on them for pest issues. 'A common problem with squash are vine borers. One of our biggest garden nemesis', the squash vine borer burrows into the vine right at the base where it meets the soil and lays eggs inside. Ultimately this kills the plant as it rots in that section, cutting the vine off from it's roots. We are going to try a new method in 2019 where you wrap the young stems in tin foil up the the first set of leaves. This supposedly keeps the vine borers out while not disturbing the plant itself. We'll see how it goes and update this page in the fall with the results. |
Harvesting
|
It's tempting to let a few of these get huge to show off to your friends and family, but once they get past a certain size they are basically inedible sponges filled with seeds. Pick them young, as soon as they are big enough to do anything with, and do your best to keep up with them. Don't worry about picking them too young, because summer squash will keep coming and coming until you never want to see one again. Eventually you'll figure out what size works best for you, and will probably end up giving away more than you eat.
They usually come off pretty easily but the best way is to use scissors or garden sheers to cut them off at the stem as to not damage the rest of the plant. |
What to do with way too many of them
|
We have never attempted to preserve summer squash long term, although I have read that it freezes well. There's also a bunch of different recipes for breads or pie fillings that could be made and frozen as well.
If you get into the zucchini noodles, it takes about 6-8 of those to make a meal for a family of 4. Put that on the menu once a week during the growing season and you should be able to use up most of them yourself. |