Gardening is a Natural Beginning to a Healthier Living.
Whether it is Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Pumpkins or the various other squashes out there, they are great Summer and Fall comfort foods. There are so many ways to cook with them from cookies, breads, steamed on the dinner plate or soups, to eating some of them fresh from the garden and dipped in your favorite dressing.
The instructions below are for my zone: Zone 8b. Instructions may vary depending on your zone. Remember to locate your zone: Plant Hardiness Zone.
Germination: 7-10 days at 85 degrees or warmer.
FULL SUN: I allow full sun 6-8 hours a day. Insufficient sun can cause low yields and affect plant health.
PH Level: 5.5-7.5
Weather:
Squash does not tolerate cold temperatures. Depending on your climate, waiting until mid-Spring is the best time to plant for a better success rate in production.
Dirt:
Use a well-draining soil with nutrient-rich compost before you add your seeds. The plant roots like soil they can grow easily in. The tap root can be deep and the rest of the roots span out sideways.
Planting seeds:
Fertilizing:
I use a good fertilizer monthly once I start seeing flowers on my plants. Using a nitrogen-rich fertilizer is best for the leaves and vegetables. Stay lower on the potassium as you are not growing a root vegetable.
Coffee grounds are a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for all squash plants, and a great way to use your coffee grounds if you drink a lot of coffee.
Harvesting:
Storage:
Insects:
Those darn squash bugs! They can do some serious damage. I have also found slugs on my vines and they burrow into the vines as well. It confuses me because there are some seriously prickly stems that always seem to find their way into my fingers and thumbs when I am not wearing my gloves.
Squash bugs will suck the sap out of the leaves, causing yellow spots that later turn brown.
Marigolds are know to repel squash bugs. Plant them everywhere!
Companion Plants:
Plants that will grow well with your squash are corn, melons, radish, cucumbers, beans, lettuce and peas.
Plants to avoid are brassicas, tomatoes and potatoes because when planted next to squash, they are more susceptible to blight.
NOTES:
I noted some interesting facts below with images that I experienced over the years. I learn something new each year in my garden. One planting season does not always yield the same in another planting season. Thank you weather!
I started my zucchini plants (3 of them) in small pots with the correct seed starting mix and compost. They were lush and green and even started to flower. Check out the image to the right..-->
I transplanted my beautiful 3 zucchini plants into the dirt garden and the leaves turned yellow and the largest zucchini I got was about 3 inches long. We had used the wrong dirt in the dirt garden. Be mindful that you have the correct garden dirt and not topsoil! Top soil has no nutritional value for plants.
A great idea in last year's garden was to trellis my spaghetti squash. They grew up the vine and kept the squash off the ground where I run into a slug and bunny issue. Trellising the squash like this also provided more space on the ground since they grew UP instead of all over the garden.
When you see a silver pattern growing on your squash leaves, it means you are doing something right and they are extremely happy plants.
This pattern looks very different than leaf fungus or mildew. See next image. -->
If you have a particularly wet season and your squash plants are close together with limited air flow, you will end up with a white powdery mildew. This does not harm the plant and the squash will continue to grow, but it looks horrible on the leaves.
Make sure your plants have enough space between them and keep the bad leaves trimmed to allow for ample air flow. Spray these leaves with a white powdery mildew spray.
Every once in awhile, I get to enjoy nature's sense of humor. This is a twin pumpkin growing this year. I will update the photo as it gets larger so we can all see how it grows.
Here is a link to some wonderful and enticing recipes on how to use your zucchini. YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THE ZUCCHINI BROWNIES! If you have a recipe that doesn't show up here and you'd like to share it on our website, send it to me through the Suggestion Form.
I would love to hear what types of squash you have grown in your gardens and where in the country you are located.
It would be fun to learn about other gardens around the world.
Feel free to send pictures of your squash plants in your garden to naturalbeginningsgarden@outlook.com. I would be happy to share them on my website with your permission.
Natural Beginnings Garden
2217 Sirkka Street ~ Centralia, Washington
Copyright © 2020 Natural Beginnings Garden - All Rights Reserved
Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder