Growing Summer Squash
UT Extension Haywood County Director Walter Battle talks about how to grow summer squash. There are a few main types of summer squash: The crooked neck and straight necked yellow squash, zucchini, and patty pan. Squash needs to be picked when it is about five inches long. At this point the squash is tender. If you wait longer the fruit becomes tough. Also, if you let it grow longer, the plant puts all of its energy into one squash. Squash grows fast and if you come back two days later the squash was five inches will be a foot long.
Squash requires lots of space to grow. Walter plants them about 2 feet apart in rows four-foot apart. They should be planted after the danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. In the Mid-South that is in May. They can be planted through the end of June. Each plant will produce for about six weeks.
Squash are cucurbits. They are susceptible to several diseases common to the cucurbit family. Because of this you should not grow squash where cucurbits grew the previous year. Practice crop rotation. This will reduce disease and pest pressures. Squash has several insects that attack it. The cucumber beetle, squash bug, and the squash vine borer all feed on squash. Walter considers the squash vine borer to be the number one pest because it will rapidly kill the entire squash plant. Aphids are also a pest, not because of them feeding on the plant but because they can carry the mosaic virus. This will cause the plant’s leaves and fruit to look mottled. The plant should be immediately removed and thrown in the trash, not the compost pile. Also, squash is susceptible to powdery mildew which can be controlled by a fungicide.
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Squash requires lots of space to grow. Walter plants them about 2 feet apart in rows four-foot apart. They should be planted after the danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. In the Mid-South that is in May. They can be planted through the end of June. Each plant will produce for about six weeks.
Squash are cucurbits. They are susceptible to several diseases common to the cucurbit family. Because of this you should not grow squash where cucurbits grew the previous year. Practice crop rotation. This will reduce disease and pest pressures. Squash has several insects that attack it. The cucumber beetle, squash bug, and the squash vine borer all feed on squash. Walter considers the squash vine borer to be the number one pest because it will rapidly kill the entire squash plant. Aphids are also a pest, not because of them feeding on the plant but because they can carry the mosaic virus. This will cause the plant’s leaves and fruit to look mottled. The plant should be immediately removed and thrown in the trash, not the compost pile. Also, squash is susceptible to powdery mildew which can be controlled by a fungicide.
Related Videos:
Squash
Squash Pests
Related Resources:
Summer Squash
Summer Squash Production
Cucumber, Squash, Melon & Other Cucurbit Diseases