Thesis
Application
Events
About us
home page forums

Squash - cucumbers and gourds

General information

  • Description: Gourds include all types of pumpkins and squash varieties. Two main groups: summer squash and winter squash. Summer squash is harvested in the warm weather months and doesn’t store for long. Winter squash is harvested in the fall and has a hard rind, which allows it to keep well for months.
  • Companion planting: Cucumbers and squash (as well as beans and peas) will help tomatoes. See Best and Worst Companion Plants for Tomatoes
  • Vine lengths: Summer squash take 3 square feet. Winter squash vines reach 8 feet in all directions.

Squash Pests

  • Videos:
  • Powdery mildew:
    • Use hydrogen peroxide. Mix 6-10 Tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) per gallon and spray the plant. Spray once a week.
    • Use unpasterized milk spray. See Milk/Whey as a fungicide.
  • Squash vine borers: Moths lay their eggs at the base of the stems. Create a base-stem barrier is the easiest solution.
    1. Plant squash varieties these pests don't like.
      • Butternut
      • Green-striped Cushaw
      • Desi (Indian squash).
    2. Plant squash variety to decoy and trap. Example: Blue Hubbard Winter Squash (25 lb fruit) or Baby Blue Hubbard (5-7 lb fruit).
    3. Protect base of stem with aluminum wrap. Squash Vine Borer (My Secret Fix) How I Do It.
    4. Use row covers until plant blooms.
    5. Use Dixie cup (bottom cut out) and place over the plant to protect base of stem.
    6. Place yellow container with water and dishsoap. The bugs are attracted to yellow and will drown in the soapy water.
    7. Place yellow stick tape (sold commercially) which attracts the moths and they stick to it.
    8. Spray Bt, but if borer is already in the stem, you have to figure out how to inject it into the stem.
    9. Turn the soil after harvest. These pests overwinter a few inches below the surface, so turning the soil might expose them to predators.
    10. Use epson salt. Mix 2 Tablespoons per gallon of water + 2 teaspoons of dish soap and spray the stems. This will toughen the stems and make it harder for the borers to eat thru them.
  • Squash stink bugs:
    • Squash Stink Bugs **Secret** How To Control. Stink bugs live and hide in the mulch under the plant. Run them off by spraying water in and around the plant, then spray an insecticide to kill them. The insecticide is called Pyrethrin. Mix iwth Canola oil. Kills on contact-- that is, the wet spray must come in contact with the insect to kill it.
  • Other pests and disease:
    • Blossom end rot: Calcium deficiency.
    • Cucumber beetle (bacterial wilt): Trap beetles with yellow sticky cards fastened to stakes.

Summer/Winter Varieties

  • Summer squash varieties:
    • Crookneck: includes: Yellow Crookneck, Gold Star
    • Cousa: Some say this is the best tasting of the summer squash. Includes: Lebanese White Bush Marrow, Magda
    • Cucamelon (Melothria scabra, aka 'Mexican Sour Gherkin') - 67 days, 10' vines, tiny 1" light green, dark striped, crispy white flesh has cucumber-like flavor with lemony tartness and a touch of lime. Look like tiny watermelons. Harvest before the seed hardens. Most productive in hot weather, not as productive as regular cucumbers, can take over a trellis. Sellers: RareSeeds.com
    • Desi (Indian): 40 days, 1 lb baseball-size fruit, rich nutty taste, bushy, use like Zucchini. Sellers: Seeds-Organic.com
    • Patty Pan: includes: Benning’s Green Tint, Sunburst
    • Tatume (Cocozella pepo): 55 days, 10' vine, more flavor than other summer squash. Harvest when fruit is softball size. Fruit can be eaten young (about 45 days) as a summer-type squash or left to mature as a winter squash. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Zucchini, Black Beauty: 45 days, prolific, dark green fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Zucchini, Golden: 54 days, high yielding squash. Smooth, straight, cucumber size. Great when picked young. Yellow skin with pale flesh. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
  • Winter squash varieties:
    • Acorn: small size, mild, subtly sweet and nutty flavor. Can be harvested between 60 and 80 days; the younger the more tender. Includes: Honey Bear, Jester. From Johnny's: 'Starry Night'
    • Acorn ('Table Gold'): Attacked by vine borers
    • Baby Blue Hubbard: 95 days, 5-7 lb, sweeter than the standard Blue Hubbard, can use as trap crop for beetles and borers. Sellers: Seeds-Organic.com
    • Black Futzu: 105 days, 3-8 lb fruit, golden flesh, tastes like hazelnuts, huge yields, dark skin. Sellers: Seeds-Organic.com
    • Buttercup: store well, buttery-sweet and satiny when baked and mashed. Like kabocha squash, but not as flavor nuanced. Includes: Burgess, Bonbon. From Johnny's: 'Bonbon'
    • Butternut: bush types grow 3-4', short vines grow 5-8', long vines grow 10-12', prolific producers, 5 lb fruit from regular varieties. Includes: Honeybaby, Waltham. From Johnny's: 'Metro PMR' and 'JWS 6823 PMR'. From SeedMan.com: 'Honeynut', 'Butterscotch', 'Waltham'
    • Butternut, South Anna [OP]: mildew resistant, does well in the South, stabilized cross between Waltham Butternut Squash and Seminole Pumpkin.
    • Butternut, Honeynut [hybrid] - 110 days (plant early), 1-1.5 lb fruit, 5" long, flesh is deep orange, sweet and rich flavor, burnt orange rind color, comes from Cornell Univ. Breeding Institute.
    • Butternut, Butterscotch [hybrid] - 100 days (plant early), 1-2 lb fruit, higher sugar than other types, resistant to mildew.
    • Butternut, Violina Rogosa [heirloom]: ?? days, 4-5 lbs fruit, 6' tall.
    • Delicata (Cucurbita pepo, aka peanut squash or sweet potato squash): 80-100 days, vining, 3-4 lb fruit, 2' spread and 1' height. They’re extremely tender, with a flavor reminiscent of sweet potatoes. And unlike many winter squash, the rind is edible. Heads up: They don't store quite as long as some of the other winter squashes. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Dumpling: prolific producers, mildly sweet. Includes: Sweet Dumpling, Carnival
    • Kabocha, Sweet Mama: 85 days, 3-4 lb fruit, vine with almost no side branches, flesh is dark yellow, remarkably sweet with a nice nutty flavor, and texture that’s similar to a blend of sweet potato and pumpkin. Includes: Sunshine, Hokkori. From Johnny's: 'Winter Sweet', From SeedMan.com: 'Sweet Mama'
    • Pumpkin: Sweet varieties include: Pepitas, Super Moon, Hijinks
    • Spaghetti: Includes: Sugaretti, Tivoli
  • My selection:
    • See 2021 Schedule below.

2021 Schedule

Squash variety Image Type Size Days Tall Notes Seller
Zucchini, Black Beauty blackbeauty summer, OP   45 bushy, use tomato cages use row covers until bloom to protect from vine borers (moths) UFSeeds.com
Zucchini, Golden goldenzucchini summer, OP   54 bushy, use tomato cages use row covers until bloom to protect from vine borers (moths) UFSeeds.com
Tatume tatume summer, OP 2 lb 55 10'   UFSeeds.com
Cucamelon cucamelon summer, heirloom grape-sized 70 5-10' harvest from summer to fall RareSeeds.com
Delicata delicata winter, heirloom 3" diameter, 6" long 80-100 6'? plant 2-4 weeks after the last frost UFSeeds.com
Kabocha (Sweet Mama) kabocha winter, hybrid 3-4 lb 85-95 10-15' 3-5 fruit per vine  
Butterscotch butterscotch butternut, winter, hybrid 1-2 lb 85-110 10-12'? 3-4 fruit per vine  
Honeynut honeynut butternut, winter, hybrid 5", 1 lb 110 7-10' sweeter than regular butternut