The unappreciated squash
So many people turn away from squash and don’t appreciate its value. It absorbs flavors from whatever it’s paired with, making it highly versatile.
In fact, I married a man who only liked potatoes and an occasional kernel of corn. While french fries were his culinary choice, mashed potatoes would do. As a child, he farmed his potatoes and corn with his fork rather than eating them. While he may have outgrown the farming activity, he didn’t develop any further love for vegetables until he married me and we planted our first garden. It then took him another 10 years to start eating okra and 15 years to start eating squash.
Our four daughters, on the other hand, grew up eating everything from the garden., including squash. And leftovers? Good luck with that one. Rarely were there leftovers.
We cut the squash into long strips, coated it with flour and seasoning, and pan fried it in butter. Amazing! Typically it would get eaten as soon as it came out of the hot pan. It was like having a pack of hyenas standing in wait and ready to pounce.
We browned up some hamburger with garlic salt and pepper, added in some garden onions and tomatoes, and then diced up zucchini and threw it in, letting everything cook until the zucchini was tender. This yielded seconds for everyone in our family of six in quick succession.
Zucchini bread was also a family favorite, and it became a favorite of the grandchildren, too. On one occasion one of my grandson’s was enjoying his slice of zucchini bread when suddenly he became puzzled. Looking up at his mother he exclaimed, “Look, Mom, there’s grass in it!”
“Just eat it anyway,” she replied. So he did, and another slice after that.
Good food and good memories come with squash for our family, so we’re happy to spotlight it here.
Squash seeds are usually direct sown, but as you have probably figured out by now, we start as much as we can indoors so we get a head start on the garden season. We start all varieties of squash indoors, giving us nearly a month head start.
If you choose to direct sow, this can be done sometime after May 1 in zone 6. If you transplant seedlings into the garden, like we do, they can be placed in beds as soon as the nighttime temperature reaches 50 degrees or above.
This year, we’re growing three varieties of zucchini, two varieties of yellow squash and one spaghetti squash. Here’s a list of our favorites:
Burpee Fordhook Zucchini: 55 days to maturity after transplanting. It is best to pick and use when zucchini is 6” to 8” long.
Park Seed Spineless Zucchini: 28 days to maturity after transplanting. This is very similar to Fordhook, but produces 15 days earlier.
David’s Seeds Tigress Zucchini: 50 days to maturity after transplanting. This zucchini produces even in cool, cloudy conditions. Best picked when 6” to 8” long.
True Leaf Market Yellow Early Prolific: 48 days to maturity after transplanting. These are bush-type plants that take up very little space. Pick when squash gets 7” to 8” in length.
Park Seed Smooth Criminal Hybrid Yellow: 55 days to maturity from direct sowing. This one grows upright and needs a frame or trellis for support. It’s perfect for raised bed gardening because it grows up instead of out—a space saver. Best picked when squash gets 4” to 8” long.
Park Seed Tivoli Spaghetti: 98 days to maturity from direct sowing. This is a short vined plant that produces compact spaghetti squash that is 4 to 5 pounds each.
The Smooth Criminal Hybrid Yellow is new to our repertoire of squash this year. We were excited to see a squash that grows upright, because we have been growing the more traditional varieties upright for years.
Tip: We use 14” x 14” x 3.5’ wires for our squash plants. This helps us pack more into a tight space and it also alleviates an onslaught of squash bugs.
We also use landscape fabric under our squash. Put down the fabric first, cut an “X” where you want to plant your seedling, then use a bulb digger to make a hole for the transplant. Place the plant, cover with dirt and place your wire on top. All done!
Tip: The landscape fabric provides a “mulch” that does not attract insects and also provides a virtually clean environment for any squash that might lay on the ground. Controlling weeds and debris will also help control the dreaded squash bugs.
Tip: Keeping the squash picked will keep the plants producing until the first frost.
We hope you’ll consider planting some squash in your summer garden. Don’t let the naysayers “squash” your dreams. :) Happy gardening!
“Fertilizer does no good in a heap, but a little spread around works miracles all over.” — Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright & Whig politician
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Do you have gardening questions? Ask our experts in the comments section below. They’d love to share their knowledge with you!
