Summer Squash for Your Home Garden

Composing several species of the Cucurbita-genus classification of botany, squash is a plant of the New World previously unknown to western scientists until introduced upon encountering native Americans with furthered European exploration. Cultivated for nearly ten millennia, squash comprises the "three sisters" of many Native American tribes, a trio of three indigenous plants which provided a great deal of food; the other two were beans and maize. This grouping involved perhaps the first active practice of companion planting in the ancient world, where each plant cultivated contributed to the health of others nearby. The following varieties of summer squash present an interesting mix of the plant's varied heirloom strains. Most fall into the species Cucurbita pepo, which also includes many pumpkins.

To begin with, several varieties of zucchini have been cultivated to this point, resulting in multiple cucumber or bottle shaped fruit which range in color from yellow to green and grey. Popularly available seed varieties include black, green, grey, and dark yellow zucchini. Such squash are often bush-like, instead of mostly comprising vines, and it should be remembered that green varieties reap a heavier harvest than do those which produce yellow fruit. Most will bear edible offspring within fifty to sixty days, though some may take a few weeks longer. If the overly ambitious crops produce too numerous a fruit to give away or use before decomposition occurs, then cold storage and canning present viable preservation opportunities.

Next, several scallop-shaped squashes offer multi-use fruits often turned into excellent sautees. Black beauty squash was first introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century, and its green and matte black fruits can be used in any manner as other summer squash. Another green variety, golden scallop, is only yellow upon the outside, the inside of the fruit containing light green flesh. White patty pan and Benning's green-tint squash are two other scalloped varieties, about seven inches in size, of a flat shape and with deeply ridged edges.

Finally, a common fate for many summer squash happens to be the frying pan, and for that purpose many varieties are especially suited. However, among the best of them are the mottled green caserta squash, with its early harvest and mild-flavored white flesh. Another heirloom variety is called Nimba, and originally comes from Poland. This heavy-yielding variety has an especially early harvest time characteristic of many eastern European heirlooms, bearing fruit in about fifty days. Nimba must be constantly picked clean when fruits are ripe to encourage further production. Perhaps the most popular way of serving sliced squash is fried and breaded; simply coat squash slices with buttermilk, and then encase in a dusting of cornmeal before frying in oil until golden brown.

When planting summer squash, allow the vines room to spread, in order to receive a more bountiful crop. As a rule of spacing, seeds should be planted three feet apart within rows, and each row should have four to five feet of spacing between it and the next. Fertilize the soil before planting, and on a rather regular basis afterwards; the production of squash fruits requires much energy on account of the plant. Sow seeds outside one to three inches deep after the danger of frost has passed, and within a few months time a bountiful harvest of eight-inch culinary wonder awaits.