Winter Squash
- Botanical Name
- Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata, C. pepo
- Hardiness
- Annual
- Height
- 18 to 36 inches
- Width
- 3 to 15 feet
- Flowers
- Mid to late summer: yellow, edible
- Fruit
- Many shapes, colors and sizes including acorn, spaghetti, hubbard, turban and butternut
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Moist, well-drained, warm
- Planting & Care
- Squash germinate best in warm soil temperatures of 70°F to 105°F
- Begin sowing when the soil has warmed to at least 70°F and all danger of frost has passed
- VINING: Sow 4 to 5 seeds per hill at a depth of 1 inch. Space hills 5 to 6 feet apart in rows 7 to 12 feet apart. Thin to 2 or 3 plants per hill.
- SEMI-VINING: Sow 4 to 5 seeds per hill at a depth of 1 inch. Space hills 5 to 6 feet apart in rows 8 feet apart. Thin to 2 plants per hill.
- BUSH: Sow 1 to 2 seeds per foot of row at a depth of 1 inch. Space rows 5 feet apart. Thin to 1 plant every 3 feet of row.
- Mulch the soil to suppress weeds and retail soil moisture
- Mounding some soil around the base of the plants will help discourage squash vine borers from laying eggs
- Problems
- Squash bug, squash vine borer, striped cucumber beetle, bacterial wilt, powdery mildew, viral disease, scab
- Varieties
- Tay-Belle - acorn-type, semi-bush, dark green fruit
- Pasta - yellowish cream fruit with good flavor
- Emerald Bush Buttercup - bush-type
- Delicata - oblong white and green fruit, sweet flavor, high yielding, long storage life, All-America Selection winner
- Sunshine - attractive, 3-4 pound orange-red globe-shaped fruit, AAS winner
- Honey Bear - acorn-type, resistant to powdery mildew, AAS winner
- Bonbon - semi-bush, silver streaked dark green exterior with bright orange, sweet interior, good disease resistance, AAS winner
- Butterscotch - butternut squash, compact vines are good for smaller gardens and containers, AAS winner
- Winter Honeybaby - semi-bush habit, similar to butternut in appearance, AAS winner
- Sugaretti - spaghetti-type, attractive white and green fruit, good resistance to powdery mildew, AAS winner
- Goldilocks - acorn-type with bright orange exterior, AAS winner
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