Squash, Summer and Winter

Introduction

Description

Squash comes in a wide variety of sizes and shapes ranging from the round of pumpkins to the elongated of zucchinis, because it can cross pollinate and has been widely cultivated for centuries. Squash is a member of the Cucurbita species so it is a cousin of cucumbers and has similar needs and behavior. Extensive vines produce tendrils that allow it to climb walls, old buildings, fences, or trellises. It can also trail along the ground and grasp on to any weeds available. The five lobed leaves and stems produce hairy trichomes, which are often hardened and sharp enough to irritate the skin. Archaeological investigations have found evidence of domestication of Squash going back over 8,000 years from the very southern parts of Canada down to Argentina and Chile. As one of the traditional indigenous three sisters plants, squash has a rich history in North and South America. The dynamic of the tangled vines and irritating trichomes, makes squash an excellent companion plant to deter foraging animals from crops such as corn although, as a heavy feeder, extra watering and fertilization must be provided. Planting nitrogen fixing legumes along side is a good strategy. Squash species are monoecious, with unisexual male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flow- ers on a single plant and these grow singly, appearing from the leaf axils. The stem directly be- hind the blossom provides the most obvious clue to the flower’s gender. Male squash flowers have a straight, narrow stem that is usually 2 or more inches long. Female blossoms have a swollen stem that resembles a miniature version of the mature fruit. This swollen area is the ovary that develops before the flower begins to open, so you can determine the flower gen- der as soon as the buds begin to form. Pollinated female flowers produce fruits are large and fleshy. To encourage fruit production they can be hand pollinated with feathers. When a plant already has a fruit developing, subsequent female flowers on the plant are less likely to mature, a phenomenon called “first-fruit dominance”, and male flowers are more frequent. The excess male flowers can be eaten and the vines can be pruned to allow more energy to go into producing larger fruit over a long time. Alternatively, picking immature fruit will cause more fruit to be produced which results in an ongoing harvest of smaller fruit. There are two types of squash; summer squash and winter squash. Summer squash has been cultivated to grow quickly and be harvested while immature, when skins are soft and edible. Winter squash has been cultivated to be left on the vine to mature fully until the seeds are hard and the skins are tough and unpalatable. The tougher skins allow winter squash to be successfully stored for months in root cellars over winter, unlike their more tender counterparts that do not store for more than a few weeks. Winter squash are generally larger and take longer to mature than summer squash. Winter squash has the same growing needs as summer squash. Because it takes longer to mature it is helpful to plant seedlings indoors and transplant out to the garden in areas with shorter growing seasons. The advantage of winter squash is that it can be stored for months in a cool dry place. It helps to choose varieties based on the length of your growing season and the space you have available. Some squash grow on vines that take up a lot of space. For smaller gardens it’s advisable to grow a bush variety. Refer to the seed package and/or the catalog for information about the type of squash you are purchasing. Butternut squash. Bottle-shaped with a light brown rind. Has a natural resistance to squash vine borers. They will store for six months or longer. Buttercup squash. Similar to butternut squash, but matures faster than butternut or hubbard. It is good for areas with a shorter, cooler growing season. Each plant will likely grow vigorously and produce heavy crops of squat, green fruits. This type stores for four to six months. Squash, Summer and Winter 153 Hubbard squash and kabocha squash. Often grouped together due to their similarities. Range from medium-sized to giant. They have drier flesh than most other winter squash. Their color varies by variety, and all varieties will store for four to six months. Delicata squash and dumpling squash. Delicate squash are cylinder-shaped and dumpling squash are pumpkin-shaped. Both produce small, ivory-colored fruits with green stripes that turn orange when stored. Good for cool climates. Mature quickly and will store for three to five months. Acorn squash. Ribbed, round fruit with a gold or green rinds. Mature quickly and will store for at least three months. Good for short growing seasons. Spaghetti squash. Full of stringy fibers that look like pasta. The oblong fruits have smooth rinds that vary from tan to orange, and they will store for three to six months.

Optimal Time/Temperature for Germination:

Summer Squash: Varieties of Summer squash include zucchini and patty pan. Summer squash needs an average of 60 days to mature. They are not frost hardy and need warm temperatures to sprout. Winter Squash: Seeds require warm soil to sprout. In areas with shorter growing seasons they can be started early under grow lights and then transfer them to the outside when all threat of winter has passed. It is recommended to use biodegradable pots for seedlings so that they can be planted right in the ground without having to take the seedlings out of the pots and disturb the roots. Squash plants don’t like to be transplanted.

Optimal Soil Conditions:

Summer Squash: Requires well drained, rich, organic soil with plenty of compost and some manure. It is ideal to prepare the hills in the fall and allow the compost and manure to overwinter in the soil. Winter Squash: Squash like warm conditions with soil that is fertile, well-drained, and has a pH of 6 to 6.5 To get good growth and production, you’ll need to add lots of organic matter to your garden. Rotted manure and compost are the best for getting your plants the nutrients they need. Dig them in deeply so that the squash’s roots will penetrate easily. Squash are often planted in “hills.” These help the squash grow by warming the soil more quickly and increasing drainage. Even in well-drained areas, hills can give your plants a boost by providing warm soil as they begin growing. Hills don’t always literally mean a raised area. If you have fast-draining soil and a drier climate, you might actually make depressions, with a wide ridge around them, to hold water. Add some extra compost/manure to the area under your hills, too.

Seed Planting Depth, Spacing and Procedure:

Summer Squash: Direct sow seeds in the ground after all danger of frost has passed, usually in early spring. Later planting can be successful, depending on the length of the growing season. Start about two to three seeds in an area that should be spaced 24 to 36 inches (61-91 cm.) apart. You can put four to five seeds in hills that are located 48 inches (1 m.) apart. Make sure to plant these seeds about an inch (2.5 cm.) deep into the soil. Winter Squash: Plant six seeds per hill about an inch (2 cm) deep in a sunny spot. You want each hill to be part of a 3-ft wide row (they need their space). Leave about 5 to 6 feet (2 meters) between hills. Loosen the soil for up to a foot below the surface to ensure adequate drainage – you can mix in manure or compost at this step, too. They should appear in about 10 days. If you have a short season, you can get a jump on your growing time by planting them indoors, but if you plant too early and the squash become root bound in their pots, it will actually stunt their growth. Once your plants have put on a few leaves (this is called “germinating”), cull all but two or three at the very most per hill, leaving only the most vigorous plants. There simply isn’t enough room for all of them to grow to adult- hood. Upon planting, water them well. At this stage, you may want to set up row covers to protect your little plants from insects and make sure they grow to full capacity.

Best Companion Plants and Plants that Hinder:

Summer Squash: Squash is one of the Three sisters indigenous traditional companion planting strategies which includes corn, squash and beans. Two or three icicle radishes planted in each hill will help repel insects. Nasturtiums help repel squash bugs. Potatoes and pumpkins inhibit each other. Winter Squash: Same as summer squash.

Growing Instructions

Crop Maintenance

Summer Squash: Bush varieties will need a large area to spread out. Vining varieties will send vines and tendrils in all directions. You can rearrange your summer squash plant tendrils so they keep growing near or on the hill, but once the tendrils take hold, don’t pull them or you might disrupt the growth of the plant. Vines can be trained to trellises and fences, but it is important to harvest fruit before it gets too large for the vine to support. Once fruits start to form caution is advised because damage to vines reduce or stop production. Winter Squash: You’ll know if the flower has been pollinated if it wilts and that swelling grows visibly in the next couple of days. At this point, all you have to do is keep your vines watered and weeded, and watch out for bugs or disease. As your squash begin to grow, you can carefully put a bed of straw under them if you like, to keep them off the ground and free of blemishes and rot. However, rot shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t over water or the squash isn’t forming in a wet depression.

Moisture Requirements & Solutions:

Summer Squash: Provide good drainage and don’t spray the leaves when watering, which can encourage leaf mold. Squash vines benefit from drip irrigation as they shouldn’t be over watered but need moisture to support fruit production. Winter Squash: Give your plants about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water a week. In most climes, this is enough to keep your plants going strong. However, if you live in a particularly dry climate you can use flood-style irrigation every 2-3 weeks. Remove the weeds so they don’t steal your water; a lack of water can stunt your plants, and weeds will use the nutrients you took all that trouble to dig into your soil. A drip system is nice but if you don’t want to do that, simple trenches between the hills will help you get the water where you want it once the vines start getting rampant. Watering in the early morning allows the water to evaporate; this is good because water standing on leaves can create good conditions for disease. You don’t want wet soil all the time; during a warm summer without rain you’ll probably water every few days or so. Watch for wilted leaves, that means they definitely need a drink. On hot days, it is normal for leaves to wilt a little bit during the heat of the day, but they will of- ten firm back up in the evening. That said, if leaves are wilted early in the day before it is too hot, your plants need more water.

Weeding Needs & Solutions:

Summer Squash: Squash seedlings need some space around them so that they don’t have to compete with weeds but once they get big they will actually climb all over anything else and aren’t hindered as much by weeds. It’s good to keep large weeds that compete out of the main spot where the squash plant grows, although nitrogen fixing weeds like clover and lambs quarters can be helpful. Gardening fabric or mulches can be helpful to keep down weeds and provide clean resting spots for maturing fruit. Winter Squash: Same as summer squash.

Feeding Needs/Optimal Natural Fertilizers:

Summer Squash: Best fertilizer combination of 5-10-10 nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium. Before planting seeds, pile up hills with 2/3 organic compost and 1/3 well composted manure, then top with organic soil. Refrain from fertilizing during flowering and fruit production, unless the plants are growing poorly. In such case, top dress with worm castings. Too much fertilizer can cause blossom drop or reduced fruiting. Winter Squash: Same as summer squash.

Pests, Diseases & Solutions:

Summer Squash: Dark gray squash bugs lurk under the leaves and suck the plant’s juices. Vine borers are a caterpillar or a small moth that bores into the stems, killing the stem beyond the damage. Watch for their eggs under the leaves and along the ground. Bugs can be picked off by hand, especially early in the day when they are sluggish. Seriously affected vines that are covered in aphids or bug eggs can be cut off and disposed of. Floating row covers can help with this problem, though you’ll have to remove them when your female flowers show up so they can be pollinated. If your growing seasons allows it, you can avoid the bugs by planting squash earlier or later in the season. Tobacco ash, if placed with the seed when it is planted, is said to repel squash bugs. Aphids can be controlled with soap spray or water and as a last result, use neem. Squash, Summer and Winter 152 “Powdery mildew” causes leaves to have a milky appearance. In the second half of their growing, spray the plants with a mixture of one part milk to six parts water every two weeks to fend off this disease. Winter Squash: Same as summer squash.

When to Harvest/Number of days to maturity:

Summer Squash: Frequent harvesting of immature fruit will en- courage more fruit to form. Immature fruit has more tender skins that are more edible and great to chop up for stir fries. More mature fruit has tougher skin which lends well to baking. More mature fruit has hard seeds that must be scooped out whereas immature fruit has few or small seeds that can be eaten. Winter Squash: Winter squash are generally ripe when you can no longer pierce the skin with your fingernail. The surest thing is to leave them on the vine until the vines start to die back, but you should definitely get them in before frost. That being said, immature fruits don’t store well, so be sure to keep them growing for as long as possible. You’ll likely get three to five squash per plant.

How to Harvest:

Summer Squash: Cut fruit off carefully with scissors or a knife without damaging the vine or knocking off flowers. Flowers can be harvested and eaten for example, in tempura. If you harvest blossoms as an edible, select the extra male flowers as soon as they open, leaving the female flowers to produce fruit. Be sure to leave a few male flowers to pollinate the female blooms. Winter Squash: Clip them off the vines with clippers and leave as much stem as you can, at least around an inch. Don’t lift them by the stem; if it comes off the squash will rot. Take care not to damage the skins as that would create an entry point for rot.

Optimal Storage temperature and conditions:

Summer Squash: Can keep in the fridge for about a week, but best eaten fresh off the vine. Winter Squash: Cure the squash for storage. This means leaving the better storing varieties in a warm place for 3-5 days so that the skins will harden up further, protecting them from fungus and bacteria. Butternut, Hubbard and related types (C. maxima and C. moschata) benefit from curing. Acorn and Delicata-type squash are not good storers, and trying to cure them can actually make them last less time, so you’ll want to keep them cool from harvest, and use them within 2-3 months. A “warm” place should be 70 to 80°F (21 to 26°C). Before this stage, you may wish to clean them off with a damp, clean cloth to get rid of any dirt that could fester on the plant. A 50/50 solution of water and oxygen bleach (3% food-grade hydrogen peroxide) can be mixed in a spray bottle and used to prevent fungal rot and prepare the squash for curing and long term storage. The curing process seals the skins and dries the stem, leaving them ready for use. Keep your squash in a cool place. It shouldn’t be too dry or too wet. A cool room of a house, an unheated sun porch if it doesn’t freeze, a cool cellar if it’s not too damp or musty, are all possibilities – even under your bed could work. Keep your eyes open for signs of rot, or you might find a fermenting puddle where your squash were. Checking every week or two should be sufficient.

Optimal Preserving Procedures:

Summer Squash: Summer squash can be preserved long term, featured in a relish or as a pickle. Winter Squash: Squash is best long term stored as a fresh, cured vegetable. Although in the case of pumpkin type squashes pie filling can be made and preserved in jars to make pies in winter.

Seed Saving:

Summer Squash: Keep your squash isolated from other varieties of the same species. Pick a fully mature fruit (hard rind, even for summer squash) with the traits that you deem desirable from a range of plants. Try to save only from open-pollinated varieties. Note: It’s actually very easy to hand-pollinate squash flowers because they have large, easily recognizable male and female flowers. Otherwise you need to isolate by at least 1/2 mile. Cut the squash and scoop the seed. Scrape all the seeds into a jar, don’t worry about goop. top off with water and leave to ferment drain off the fermented water. Power rinse the seeds to remove tenacious goop. Lay seeds out to dry. Completely dry seeds can be stored dry, dark and cool place. Recommend a small mason jar with a silica gel pack stored in a basement refrigerator. Winter Squash: Common hybrid varieties have been engineered to retain selected characteristics. This hybridization, unfortunately, breeds out the plants’ innate ability to adapt to inhospitable or challenging conditions. Saving heirloom squash seeds for future propagation can be a bit of a challenge since some squash will cross pollinate, resulting in something less than appetizing. There are four families of squash, and the families don’t cross pollinate, but members within the family will. Only plant members of differing families nearby. Otherwise, you will have to hand pollinate squash to maintain a “true” squash for squash seed collection. Winter Squash: Squash Families: Cucurbit Maxima – Buttercup, Banana ,Golden Delicious, Atlantic Giant, Kobacha, Hubbard, Turban Cucurbita Argyrosperma – Crooknecks, Cushaws Cucurbita Moshata – Tennessee, Sweet Potato squash, Butternut and Butterbush Cucurbita Pepo – Acorn, Delicata, Pumpkins, Scallops, Spaghetti squash Regarding hybrid varieties, often the seed is sterile or doesn’t reproduce true to the parent plant, so don’t try squash seed harvesting from these plants. Don’t attempt to save any seeds from plants that are afflicted with disease, as this will likely pass to the next year’s generation. Select the healthiest, most bountiful, flavorful fruit to harvest seeds from. Harvest seeds for saving from mature fruit towards the end of the growing season. When seeds are ripe, they generally change color from white to cream or light brown, darkening to a dark brown. To remove squash seeds from the fruits, simply split the squash in half by shallowly cutting through the rind from top to bottom on both sides and separating the two halves. Cutting through the center of the fruit can damage seeds. Next, scoop out the seeds, massaging them free from the pulp as much as possible. Transfer them to a wide-mesh strainer—or any other container with openings large enough for pulp and strings to pass through. Running the seeds under a strong stream of water will help dislodge the seeds from the pulp. Another method for separating seeds from the pulp: Scoop the seed mass out of the fruit and place it in a bucket with a bit of water. Allow this mix to ferment for two to four days, which will kill off any viruses and separate the good seeds from the bad. Good seeds will sink to the bottom of the mix, while bad seeds and pulp float. After the fermentation period has completed, simply pour off the bad seeds and pulp. Spread the good seeds on a screen or paper towel to dry. Allow them to dry completely or they will mildew. Once the seeds are absolutely dry, store them in a glass jar or envelope. Clearly label the container with the variety of squash and the date. Place the container in the freezer for two days to kill off any residual pests and then store in a cool, dry area; the refrigerator is ideal. Be aware that seed viability decreases as time passes, so use the seed within three years.

Harvest and Storage

Notes

Summer Squash: Hand Pollinating: Male squash flowers develop and open first; the first few flowers on a new plant are usually male, with the female blooms beginning to open days, or even weeks, afterward. These male flowers drop off once they shed their pollen, so your squash may lose it’s first flower flush with – out setting fruit. Male and female blooming begins to overlap once the squash is actively in full flower, which allows for pollination and fruiting to occur. Both male and female squash flowers open in the morning and close in the late afternoon or evening. Squash pollen is sticky and does not travel through the air on its own. Although bees and in – sects usually pollinate the female flowers, hand pollination can improve squash yields. It’s especially helpful in urban areas with few bees or if both male and female squash flowers are dropping from the plant without setting fruit Rubber band the male flowers closed on the day they bloom so they don’t shed their pollen. Pick these flowers the following day when the female blooms open. Remove the male petals and rub the anthers inside the female flowers to pollinate them. You can also use a small paint brush or a feather to transfer the pollen. Alternatively, pick male flowers the day they bloom and keep them in a vase of water overnight. Then, pollinate the female flowers the next morning.

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