Call then what you will, Squash or ‘Button Squash’, these small plants are tasty, easy to grow and do not take much space. So we will tell you haw to grow squash that are sweet and tasty in the home garden.
Squash including winter squash and summer squash are probably best known for the Butternut Squash (Butternut Pumpkin) However many varieties of both winter squash and summer squash are available to grow from seed.
In Australia most Squash Varieties are referred to as pumpkins, so lets think of them as compact growing pumplkins.
Squash are small marrows harvested before they mature and used in a range of dishes. They generally fall into two categories Winter squash and Summer Squash.
Varieties
Squash Varieties Include: Baby Blue, Bush Table Queen, Blue, Banana Blue,Butternut Hercules, Butternut, Butternut Waltham, Crookneck, Hubbard Crown Prince, Gem, Golden Hubbard, Gramma, Green Hubbard, Jarrahdale, Jap, Potkin, Queensland Blue, Red Hubbard, Spaghetti and Turks Turban.
Growing Squash
You will need a sunny position in the garden, and you can either start them from seed, or plant seedlings. They also grow well in containers, so even in a small garden, they are easy to grow. You can plant them from late winter to late summer and get a good crop.
- Dig over the soil well and add some well rotted compost.
- seedlings can be planted at around .5m apart, use a dibbler, or just a stick to make the hole. Place the seedling in the hole and backfill.
- Water in with a liquid seaweed fertiliser and keep moist.
- You can mulch around the plants with some lucerne hay or similar.
Top Tips on How to Grow Squash
- Keep moist through the growing season
- Harvest while small. Large squash can be tough and stringy.
