Originating from the American continent, the squash is cultivated mainly in the U.S. and also worldwide. There are a lot of squash varieties, and they’re naturally divided in soft-skin summer squashes such as scallop, crookneck, banana, pumpkin and gourd. While starting out a lot of farmers aren’t aware about HOW TO GROW SQUASH? The Squash is a prolific plant and warm temperature is required with rich moist soils for producing it. Adding up fertilizer replenishes and enriches nutrients of the soil while fostering the plants with fruits season wide.
GROWING SQUASH – WHAT ARE THE NECESSITIES?
You need to plant summer varieties squash while all the frost chances passed. You can also plant winter squash in the mid-summers.
Squash plants must be provided with adequate room for sprawling after planting these at around 3 – 6 feet distance. These need to be grown in areas with access to sunlight for 6 hours or more and have availability of well-drained rich soil.
Native soil can be provided with a nutrition spike after mixing a few inches of old compost or any other organic matter. The Squash plants depend on moisture constantly but it’s better to avoid wetting leaves; the best treatment is having 1 – 1.5 inches water.
The most food growth efforts can be utilized through FEEDING SQUASH PLANTS with continuous plant food release.
You can simply harvest the baby squash of summer varieties once they’ve become large enough for eating or waiting until they’ve reached their size limit (typically 6 – 8 inches long).
FERTILIZATION AND HARVEST
IN FALL SEASON – Preparing garden for the spring plantation starts in fall season and early winters. After summer harvests are finished, the gardener must remove summer garden remnants for prevention of pests and disease from overwintering inside debris.
The garden bed gets rejuvenation through raking 1 to 2 inch manure layer over the whole garden and digging it inside soil. Over winter, manure decomposes back slowly and releases nutrients with micronutrients inside soil.
USING COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR FERTILIZATION
Commercial grade fertilizers can be available in different formulations, like 10-10-10, 4-8-5 or 5-10-10. The squash requires regular fertilizers for thriving, but also adding up nitrogen encourages plants for producing leafy green instead of fruits and flowers. A lot of gardeners require 5-10-10 fertilizers. They add 1 tbsp. SQUASH FERTILIZER to each base before they plant seeds and monthly in growing season.
GARDEN BED IN SPRING
When the weather starts warming up and all frost chances get past, and then the garden bed now is ready for planting. Getting a layer of well-rotted compost and then digging it various inches in soil results in rich loose soil allowing the squash for thriving.
COMPOST TEA
The squash plants feed heavily, and require moist soil with regular fertilizer applications. A lot of organic farmers also apply compost tea in two weeks throughout growing season. After steeping various handfuls of well-rotted compost inside water for around 24 to 48 hours, the nutrients of compost then get released within water, making them absorbed simply through the roots of the plants.
FERTILIZING SQUASH IN THE U.S
In various regions across the U.S., the squash plants have to be started indoors for a minimum of 5 to 6 weeks before the date of late expected spring frost. Sprouting seeds in the moist paper towels that are kept inside containers and plastic bags for a week provides you with germination jump start.
You can make use of seed starter mix or potting soil and small pots and seed flats composting in soil so you won’t need to disturb roots of the new plant. The seeds need to be set at a minimum of inch beneath the soil surface, or for the sprouted seeds you have to bury the roots completely.
Plant in hills with soil that are compost rich as soon the temperatures get warm and seedlings are there at least 2 true leaves pair. The beginner fertilizer post seedlings acclimated in around 2 weeks.
Once vine shape begins sprawling, it would be vital to have control. Firstly you have to look and notice whether the plant is indeterminate or determinate. Indeterminate grow out of control in the garden with vigorous fruiting seasonally with stem growth.
For feeding throughout the season with water you need to prevent any boggy soil. Every 10 to 14 days you can feed them with high potash fertilizer. Alternately, you can dig in a lot of manure and compost before you plant and side dress either post establishment of plants. With this the squash gets all necessary nourishment seasonally.
Squash growing with a lot of varieties, is truly a great thing to have. The fascinating shapes with various usage enhance the diet of your family.