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Vegetable Varieties - Summer Squash

All summer squash (straight neck, crookneck, bush scallop, and zucchini) are actually true pumpkins. They crosspollinate with each other as well as Halloween type pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and small ornamental gourds. All this crossing does not affect the quality of the current season’s production.

Summer squash have a tender skin and are harvested at an immature stage, generally within 4 to 6 days after bloom. The plants are bush type rather than vining and are suited for small gardens. Most new varieties are hybrids.

Summer squash have separate male (attached to the plant by a thin stem) and female flowers (small squash behind the yellow blossom) on the same plant and depend on bees for pollination. Hybrids may produce a few female flowers before male flowers appear, and without pollination, these fail to develop into squash.

Plant summer squash seeds in hills about 3 feet apart, with 3 to 4 seeds per hill or in a row with single seeds spaced about 1 foot apart. Space single plants about 3 feet apart. Crowding leads to low production and disease.

Squash do well on black plastic mulch in spring, especially when planted early. They benefit from warm soil and lack of weed competition. Fall squash can be grown by planting seeds in August, but mosaic virus has been a serious problem in recent years.

Side-dress plants with a nitrogen fertilizer when they have several leaves but before they start to bloom.

Proper harvesting is important for continuous production. Remove all large and overmature squash. This problem is more serious with zucchini than with other types of summer squash.

Several serious insect pests attack squash plants: spotted and striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs, stem borers, and pickleworms. A regular spray program with carbaryl (Sevin) helps reduce damage from these insects.

Disease problems are mainly fruit rot on crowded, shaded plants and mosaic virus.

Varieties

Aristocrat—hybrid zucchini; cylindrical fruit; smooth; uniform; dark green; 53 days; AAS 1973.

Bush Scallop—scalloped white to pale green fruit; 55 days.

Butterbar—hybrid yellow straightneck; long, cylindrical; butter yellow; small seed cavity; 49 days.

Dixie—hybrid; crookneck; lemon yellow.

Early Prolific Straightneck—popular old variety; creamy yellow; straight; slightly tapered; 52 days; AAS 1938.

Early Summer Crookneck—popular old variety; yellow; small, curved neck with bulbous blossom end; 55 days.

Senator—hybrid zucchini; 6 to 7 inches long; medium green.

Sunburst—hybrid scallop; bright yellow with green at blossom and stem ends; AAS 1985.