Got Squash Questions?
Do have any burning questions about growing squash that I haven’t answered here?
Are there any other aspects of squash gardening that I should have written about?
Leave a comment and let me know!
I’ll do my best to answer your question, and improve the site for anyone else who might want to know the same thing.
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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
We dried the seeds from an acorn squash on a paper plate. Can we plant these in our garden as they are, or do we need to do something else to them? How do we store them before we plant them? Thanks for your help
@Nancy Pinter,
Thanks for your question!
I answered with a blog post here:
http://www.squashgrowingtips.com/how-to-save-squash-seeds-to-plant-later/
@Nancy Pinter,
I have a small garden with yellow squash and cucumbers planted next to each other. I took a yellow squash from it’s plant and cut it open only to find out it was a yellow cucumber. Please advise how this is possible. Thank you.
Is it true that if you plant your squash and your cucumber rows side by side that your cucumbers may turn yellow?
@Mike,
No. Planting squash and cucumbers next to each other should have no effect.
In general, even if you plant two different varieties of the same plant next to each other, they won’t affect that generation.
It is possible that two types of cucumbers could cross pollinate though, and then the NEXT generation of cucumber that you grew with the seeds from those cucumbers would be some kind of a hybrid.
(I realize that’s a different issue than what you’re asking about, but it’s also a question that comes up now and then.)
My garden is on the north side of my house. I have 18 inches of eave that has to much shade for any thing to grow well. I’m looking for something to plant close to the drip line of where the roof drains off. If I plant squash out from under the eave can it survive with half of the plant in full sunshine?
I have 2 tomato plants I removed from some grow boxes I believe were infected with southern wilt disease. I used brand new potting mix this year, because I believe I had the same problem last year with the same variety of tomatos. I must have not cleaned the boxes thorough enough and left some of the spores from last year.
I hate to let the soil go to waste and was wondering if it would be ok to plant squash in them or if you know of any other vegetable that would not contract disease. I am pretty sure I could do corn, but didn’t really want to.
Thanks,
Jamie
what temp can squash handle.
The yellow squash are rotting from the flower end after the flower blooms. There are several flowers blooming on long stems, but there does not appear to be any squash on these stems.
The zucchini plant also has these blossoms on long stems. What should I do? Thanks!
@Melinda, I have the same problem with some tomato plants and the local county extension in Sarasota Fl. said that it was bloom rot caused by inconsistent watering or not enough calcium in the soil…hope this might help.
Peter
I have limited space to plant squash. I would like to grow one summer variety for eating this summer and two different winter squashes. Which ones can I plant in the same general area and which have to be separated quite a bit (so they don’t cross pollinate and make freak fruit). Also, if I also grow some melons, do I have to worry about them cross pollinating with squashes and making freak fruit?
I have crook neck yellow squash and I need to know why they are not filling out. It is like the grow to small size and the stop growing and either rot from the end up toward the stem or they swrivel up and just stop growing any suggestions are welcome please before I loose them all. The plants are full of small squash and I don’t want to loose them.
Thank you,
Debbie
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It sounds like blossom end rot, which is a common problem for squash. It’s caused by a nutrient deficiency, specifically the lack of calcium. Either there is a lack of Ca in the soil, or the plant can’t absorb it. Try adding organic material to your soil and mulching around the squash plants so they do not dry out. Keep in mind that often over fertilizing can cause blossom end rot because excess nitrogen can keep the plant from absorbing calcium.
my squash is starting to rot on vine what is this caused from?
@judy, Most likely it’s due to lack of Calcium.
My squash plant has been flowering for approx. 2 weeks now, and I haven’t spotted a single female flower yet. Is this normal? How long will it take?
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Usually, it’s only a few days to a week later that you would see the female flowers. Double check, and look for the swollen stalk of the female flower to identify it.
@Judy, Thanks! I have finally spotted the female flowers!
My squash plants are huge, green and have beautiful yellow flowers (blooms); however, it’s been at least a week and I’ve seen no promise of squash when the blooms fall off. I only planted six plants….what could be the problem? The plants look so healthy!
It would be nice if you had under your growing tips section a section on what cross polination is and what squash plants have to be separated from each other so you retain true fruit. I find this all very complicated and am not sure I will plant correctly thid year. Last year we had some freaky squashes, so something went wrong! I see there are different squash genuses and that must have something to do with cross polination I am thinking. deb
@Debra
Cross pollination only affects the NEXT generation of the plant, and not the current generation.
So you can plant two different squash varieties next to each other, and they will grow into the variety that they are intended to be. It’s only if you then take the seeds from the squash that grew and plant them next year, then you’d have hybrid seeds where the two plants had cross pollinated.
My yellow crock neck squash seems to be getting a very dark yellow and hard before it even finishes filling out. What can cause this? I live in central FL.
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It sounds like the squash is over mature. Try harvesting the squash a little earlier. Squash is ready when it is about one to two inches in diameter. It will taste much better when harvested early.
My summer squash is growing like crazy, with plants reaching 3-4 ft. The limbs are long, about 18 “, and the leaves are 12 to 18″ across,they have put on lots and lots of blooms but haven’t really started to produce fruit yet. The meter man told me that I should cut-back the big leaves, is this good advice?
@Carl
Yes, you can prune back some of the larger leaves. Just don’t prune too many.
Here’s a good resource that talks about zucchini, but is still helpful. http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/vegetable/pruning-zucchini-how-to-prune-zucchini-squash.htm
My squash plant leaves are huge but the actual yellow veggies are rotting under the leaves. what can I do to stop them from rotting?
I have planted zucchini squash plants and they were starting to get blooms on them and when I went to look at them tonight, all the blooms are gone…..could squirls be eating them and if so, what can I do to keep them away from the plants?
I planted both my yellow squash and zuccini plants a couple of weeks ago. They came up with no problems and now seem to have ” stalled” and are no longer growing. I have watered them regularly with miracle grow fertilizer and they have full sun. Is there something else I can try? I really want to have squash ( all my friends are getting fruit right now and I have 1″ plants!!)
Thanks!
Illinois
I planted 1 seed from a spagetti squash and is growing like crazy but the large leaves are turning yellow and drying up. It is spreading to other leaves. I see no bugs. The location is dallas, full sun, have good drainage, will change from sprinklers that mist to drip irrigation. Any thoughts on what the problem is? Will I need to pollinate? Have no bees.
My squash plant are flowering and there is small fruit, however the leaves are turning yellow and the fruit is starting to die. What can I do?
I have butternut squash that is getting pretty big, but I am not sure when they are ripe to pick. Could you please help me? Thank you.
Hello. I have a small garden with yellow squash and cucumbers planted next to each other. I took a yellow squash from the plant and cut it open only to find out it was a yellow cucumber. How is this possible and is this common?
I am getting lots of squash flowers but no squash…what am I doing wrong??
I want to grow winter squash on a trellis, can you suggest some suitable varieties, and how high do you think the trellis should be?
Thank you alan
WE have some squashes growing in the garden and we don’t know what variety they are. They are huge.. bigger than a football and butter yellow outside. Planted in May, we just hrvested one now, September. We are in England. Any ideas on a recipe?
Many thanks
My friend had some winter squash that was left out on her back porch and froze before she could get them into her basement. Will they be any good to use yet?
Last year I planted one plant and harvested 5 squash. However I had many “starts” that withered. What caused the little squashes not to continue growth? Also, my squash vined out into the yard, which is fine, but should I put something under the vines to allow for better drainage? If allowing the vines to grow out into the yard is alright, should I put anything under individual squash to keep them up off the wet grass? I don’t want to dig up my whole ard. And, finally, will acorn squash climb and will the vines support the growing squash?
My acorn squash plants start to bear fruit and then the fruit withers and dies. Any idea what the plants need?
My yellow crook neck squash are getting dark yellow and hard before they get 2-3 inches long, the bloom is longer than the squash. I’m definitely not waiting too long to pick them. They are not drying up either. What could be the reason?
I have a garden going and i planted my squash and they are growing but it not like they ripen enough before they kinda shrink up and die. I am not to sure why they are doing this. If you could please help me out!!!
thank you
dania
what does a baby sqash look like when it first comes out of the ground
what does a baby sqash leave look like when it first comes out of the ground
I am wondering if I plant to beautifully started squash close together, but point the vines in opposite directions as they grow, can I expect fruit?
Thanks!
My plants are tall, green and healthy but my crooked neck squash is not growing past two to three inches and then turning hard. What is wrong?
What vitamins are in squash?
Can you tell me what kind of squash this is? This one is about 8 inches in diameter and I had one that was about 14 inches in diameter. It has a yellow stem. Thank You
Hi,
I took my winter squash which was getting a bit sad and cooked them up to freeze them. I noticed that most of them had seeds that did not have meat in them. WHY?
Thanks.
Why are the leaves on my young squash plants turning yellow and dying?