Home garden squash
Avegetable garden favorite of many is squash. The popularity of squash can be tied to the many squash type planting options, the health benefits from squash and how squash can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen.
Squash can also be a garden item not too difficult to grow if you can manage for certain insects, diseases and follow general cultural practices. Today, I will be sharing information based from a UGA publication by Malgorzata Florkowska and Bob Westerfield,
UGA Extension Horticultural staff.
For most gardeners, a vegetable garden is not complete without squash plants. Squash can be high in not only fiber, but also high in vitamins A and C. I would say for most gardeners, the yellow straight neck or crooked neck summer squash is the most popular. This is the part in my article where I promote soil testing.
Our office is submitting soil samples to our UGA Soil Test Lab multiple times per week. With potentially higher fertilizer costs, submitting a properly taken $9 soil sample to our lab can take out the guesswork in not only how to fertilize your squash plants, but the rest of vegetable garden items. We can email or mail you simple directions on how to collect sample by request.
You should plant summer squash in full sun after the danger of frost has past. In our area, normally April 15th is that general time, but we had extreme frost April 21st and 22nd in 2021. You just need to feel very confident in your planting time in regards to late frost. Plant 4 to 6 squash seeds in individual mounds 4 feet apart. After the resulting plants have two leaves, thin to two or three plants per mound.
Some people may choose to plant a squash transplant instead of direct seeding, but make sure transplants have two to three mature leaves and a well-developed root system. I will add that squash normally will do better directly seeded that planted as a transplant. You can have transplant loss especially if the transplants are mature and “leggy”. On the flipside, winter squash per Florkowska and Westerfield, will need more room because of the plant’s vining nature.
You should allow 6 to 8 feet between mounds to give more room for the plants to spread out. Winter squash requires warm soils and can be planted a few weeks after summer squash has been sowed. The type of squash you plant is personal preference and goals with the squash. After plant seeds has germinated, it is recommended to apply some type of organic mulch. Make sure the mulch source is herbicide free to avoid damage to your plants.
Mulch can help in many ways by helping to control weeds, conserve moisture plus will help keep the plant fruit clean. It is suggested to water newly seeded gardens daily and lightly for the first week to aid germination. Established squash will need between 1 to 1.5 inches of irrigation per week.
The best way to irrigate squash is by drip irrigation or soaker hoses. This type of irrigation is more efficient and can keep plant foliage dry which can reduce your chances of disease. Moisture needs to get 6 to 8 inches in the soil profile. You should cut back on irrigation when squash fruit ripens to reduce changes of fruit rot.
I have been a county agent for almost 29 years and I will admit that squash can be a plant that results in numerous calls to the county agent. The main insect issues in our area can be from squash bugs and squash vine bores. You should learn to identify squash bugs for sure. Squash bug adults are gray or brown and suck the sap from the plant leaves. This damage will leave the leaves speckled before they wither and die.
Ideally, you should control squash bugs when they are immature. As the summer goes, squash bug populations can increase. You can control squash bugs by picking them off by hand and discarding or by use of approved insecticides for that pest and squash. Some gardeners may even try to get squash plants going as soon as recommended to obtain a harvest before squash bugs are more problematic.
Squash vine borers is a pest that begins as an adult that lays eggs in the lower stem of squash plants. The hatched larvae will eat their way into the stem which will cause the plant to wilt and die. If you do detect the insect early or suspect squash vine bores, you can at times cut the borer larvae out of the lower stem with a sharp knife. After the larvae is removed, mound soil over the wound made
by the knife to encourage rooting. The plant may survive. Another issue is blossomend rot which is a not a disease, but a calcium deficiency problem along with hot weather. You will see a black rot area develop on the end of the fruit.
You can have blossom-end rot problems again when weather is hot, the soil is lacking calcium and the soil is short on moisture. A general way to control is to make sure soil moisture to the plant is uniform and add lime according to a soil report.