Gardening Tips: Growing Your Own Squash

If you have a vegetable garden, you must consider growing squash. It is a nutritious vegetable and is easy to grow. There are many varieties of squash - they come in different colors, sizes, flavors and shapes. Different varieties are harvested during different times of the year. Summer squash varieties like zucchini, yellow straightneck and scallop are harvested all through summer and early fall while winter squash varieties like buttercup, acorn and spaghetti are harvested close to the first frost at the end of fall.

You can grow both summer squash and winter squash in your garden. Here are some tips on growing squash.

• All varieties of squash love warm surroundings and the sun. Locate a place in your garden which gets over 10 hours of sunlight every day for cultivating squash.

• Squash needs plenty of room to grow. Summer varieties are large and bushy while the winter varieties are mostly rambling vines. Make sure you provide ample space for your squash garden.

• You can use either seeds or seedlings to grow squash. When you start with squash seeds, you can directly plant them in your garden or grow seedlings indoors before transplanting them. Use large pots or trays with good drainage for indoor plantations. Fill the container with a mix of an organic seed-starter and soil. Plant the squash seeds about 6"-8" apart. Place a plastic sheet over the container to hold moisture and warmth. Once the seedlings develop 5"-6" in height, you can transfer them to your garden. When you plant seeds directly in your garden, make sure that you are past the last frost of the winter.

• Prepare your garden soil before you plant the squash seedlings. Dig and mix the soil with generous quantities of organic compost high in nitrogen and phosphorous. The soil should be loose and well-draining. Ideally the pH of the soil should be around 6.5. Add organic fertilizers to the mix.

• Pour plenty of water in the seedling containers and gently loosen the seedlings. Remove them with a trowel and do not hurt their roots or foliage. Make little soil hills or garden-beds in your garden and place 2-3 seedlings in each bed. Leave 3'-4' between adjacent hills or rows of squash. Add 1"-2" of mulch on top of the soil - this holds moisture and thwarts weed growth.

• Squash plants do not require too much water. But water adequately once in 2-3 days.

• To give adequate support to the vine varieties, place a wooden or metal teepee or trellis around the plants.

• Check for infestations regularly. Squash is a favorite of aphids, leaf miners, leaf hoppers and beetles. Hand-pick pests whenever possible. Regularly remove and dispose affected foliage. Place an aluminum foil around the base of the squash plants to keep leaf hoppers away. Spray organic compost tea or an organic pesticide if required.

• Fertilize the soil once every 2-3 weeks for a bountiful yield.

• Harvest the summer squash when the vegetable has thin skin and tender seeds. If you let them over-ripen, summer squash varieties will end up becoming thick-skinned and bitter-tasting. Harvest the winter squash varieties when they become fully mature, solid and hollow-sounding when you tap on them.

Summer squash can be stored in a refrigerator for a couple of weeks before they start getting watery and bad. On the other hand, winter squash can be stored for 3-6 months.