Sowing technique for Squash

[BumbleB]

Just read all the good advice for sowing/growing Parsnips.

Has anyone any good advice and tips for Squash.

Best time to sow, good varieties, windowsil or greenhouse, pregerminate?
Days to germinate, growing on etc.

Many thanks, I enjoy reading your posts.

BB

[Capsid]

Squash germinate quite readily. I plant an individual seed per 3" pot indoors in late April/May. Then transplant into bigger pots as they get bigger and the roots show and transfer to a greenhouse or cold frame. They will need protecting from the frosts, so don't plant outside in their final position until June. I'm going to plant my squash between sweetcorn this year.

I'm growing Barbara butternut variety.

[colser]

only thing i would add to this is make sure they are a decent size before you plant out otherwise the slugs will devour them overnight

[TonyF]

Squash are easily grown, I've several dozen growing away outside atm, lots of varieties but then I'm about a month on from you guys weather wise.

Butternuts are good as are most of the pumpkin family, If you don't have a lot of room, try Jack be Little which give smaller fruits. And round courgettes are good (Ronde de Nice is a good variety) and you can get yellow courgettes for a different look.

If you can grow them upwards, do that because they can take up a lot of room and, with support (nets, old stockings/tights etc) they look good as vines.

When you plant the seeds, read above but put the seeds in on edge. It's an old trick but it works - it stops the water you use in the pots sitting on the flat side of the seeds, less chance of rotting off.

Hope this helps.

Silly tip is make sure you label the pots - because they certainly all do look alike until they fruit.

[Rhona]

I've started some varieties off in the last week - they grow pretty quickly, and two have their first true leaves coming through. I'll get these to a reasonable size before putting them out, but I'll also plant some seeds straight into the ground in May - this has worked out before.

I've got a couple of 'Hallowe'en' varieties (sorry can't remember which); Jaspee, which is a small one; and a butternut squash. It's the butternut I start earlier as they really need a fairly long decent growing season.

They are fairly greedy feeders and will need quite a lot of space for the larger ones, but yes - the littlies like Jack be Little can be trained upward - I grew one around a mini-archway a few years ago and it looked very pretty!

And yep, label them... I didn't one year and got ornamental varieties all mixed up with the others...

[BumbleB]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I may have tried to germinate mine too early (started end of feb) but today it looks like one has popped through the soil, I will get going with some varieties you have suggested indoors and plant out later in May. I do hope to grow them over a heavy strong pergola at the side of my veg patch as I have seen some good pictures showing how good they look. I also find this vegetable very versatile to eat (OH is a chef!).

BB

[Eyren]

I sowed mine at the weekend - I want them fairly big before I subject them to the tender mercies of my slug-infested allotment

This year I'm trying butternut squash "Hunter" (a fast-maturing variety bred for the UK climate) and "Uchiki Kuri", a cute little orange-coloured squash. Last year I grew "Burgess Buttercup", which was quite tasty but only set one fruit in our cold wet summer

[piskieinboots]

I sowed Squash Crown Prince on 2 Apr in my greenhouse (now unheated), they have shown up today

[BumbleB]

I think this shows that later sowings is often better. I have found that the later tomato seedlings are stronger than those I tried early.

[Demeter]

I'm planning to sow my squash over the Easter hols sometime, to go out on the plot around mid to late May. Have already sown the first lot of Cukes and Courgettes (29 March) which are up and running already. They have such nice big seed leaves, they always look strong right from the start (not like my melons, ho hum)

[snakeshack]

sowed all my squashes cucs and gherkins with my melons last week in the propagator.Everything has germinated by yesterday.Dont know if i will have room inside so have built a large 8' x 4' hoop cloche in the lottie.