Summer Squash

Instructions:

  • Transplant or direct sow
  • When soil temperatures have reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit – usually three weeks after last frost
  • Seed 8 inches apart and thin to 3 feet apart
  • Plant seedlings 3 feet apart
  • Planting in hills is another method
  • Hill soil and plant 4-6 seeds on the hill
  • This is helpful in colder Northern climates
  • Plant hills four feet apart

 

Insect Pests:

  • Aphids, Green Peach and Melon
  • Cucumber Beetle
  • Cutworms
  • Slugs
  • Squash Beetle
  • Squash Bug

 

Diseases:

  • Anthracnose, Alternaria, and Black Rot
  • Downy Mildew
  • Phytophthora Blight and Fruit Rot
  • Plectosporium Blight
  • Powdery Mildew

 

Harvest:

  • Slick Pik and Dunja (Zucchini)
  • July and August or throughout the summer is altered plantings are utilized
  • Pick when they are 4 to 6 inches long, the skin is still tender, and the seeds have not fully formed
  • Pick squash that have unblemished skin
  • They should have a heavy feel, if they are light they may be soft and dehydrated inside
  • About 60 days after planting

 

Post-Harvest:

  • Can be damaged from 3 to 4 days of exposure to temperatures between 32 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and a 90% or higher relative humidity
  • Store at 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 90% relative humidity, for up to 2 weeks
  • Market as soon as possible

 

Year Variety Date Planted Date Harvested Days to Harvest Yield (lbs/sq. ft)
2016 Slick Pik  
2016 Dunja  
     
     

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