How to Grow Squash | Basic Tips for Incredible Success
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
- Squash is a quintessential summer crop that, if grown well, is SO productive you'll probably end up pawning it off on family and friends 😂 - learn the basics of squash care in this beginner guide.
00:00 - Intro
00:29 - Seeds
02:00 - Summer Vs. Winter Squash
03:20 - Male Vs. Female Flowers
04:44 - Harvesting
IN THIS VIDEO
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Picked a zucchini out of the garden and diced it in little squares today sauteed it with butter and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese at the end and it was so yummy
Sounds delicious 😋
@@MrGRockin it was very delicious
I picked one that was very small but looked like it was starting to rot on the vine. So I picked it cut the rot end off sliced some green onion from the garden and some cherry tomatoes that surprised me by popping up wild and then ate that with oil and vinegar salt and pepper and fresh basil
That's got to be a very rewarding experience.
I sautéed my zucchini with red onions. I'm going to try your zucchini with parmesan!
I was so worried about pollinators. Our area over the years just didn't seem to have many. No bees really and if I saw a butterfly, it was like seeing a unicorn.
That kind of scarcity.
When I put the first raised bed in, I planted what I had. Vinca, Echinacea. I got my mits on marigolds.
About three or so weeks ago, I head out to check on the garden.
The squash plants!
Carpenter bees, bumble bees, all kinds of bees and butterflies, just doing their mojo!
I'm not gonna lie. I cried a bit, I was so happy!
The summer squash? I just cooked up the first two and it was like they were simmered in butter, herbs and the tears of angels! It was THAT good!
😇
It's definitely a "if you plant it, they will come" situation. Have you added any flowers native to your area? That helps out heaps too.
Also try Borage, Yarrow, Alyssum, and Creeping Thyme.
@@xavierprotocols Borage looks like it was dipped in some fairy pond. Love it!
You drink angel tears? Why don't you drink some orphan tears while you're at it?
j/k ;)
It’s funny how you say, “I don’t know why I’m making a video about growing squash since it’s so easy…” Well, I know why! Because I need it!! I’ve lost over half of my squash plants (started with 12+) and my boys and I have picked off literally a minimum of 100(!) squash bugs plus eggs. Thanks for being inspired to make this video!
Same,.every day when possible I have to check on two volunteer pumpkins, unbelievable the amount of eggs underneath the leaves, and it's not over yet I still see the white butterfly hovering around
@@verawallace9055 Cabbage worms don't bother my squash although they are the major problem with my cabbage, cauliflower, etc. BT takes care of them. Squash bugs are everywhere this year. I sprayed and had a few days of peace and then I started finding eggs again and spotted more bugs. Scraping off the eggs again and will spray in a few days once the thunderstorms are over. Thankfully the squash are all doing well and producing but it is a lot of work and time consuming.
Squash bugs seriously suck. Soapy water spray helps to keep them in check.
I grew yellow zucchinis last year, it was my first gardening experience. You're right, I only had 2 plants and they produced so much I had to give some away to my neighbour, freind and mum. They made me feel so accomplished and I cant wait to grow more this year.
When it comes to squash vine borers, another consideration is that Cucurbita moschata cultivars tend to be more resistant than Cucurbita pepo cultivars, since the latter has hollow stems. C. moschata includes butternut, calabaza, tromboncino, and one of my favorites, Tahitian butternut. Last year when my zucchini was being ravaged by borers, my Tahitian butternut was taking over the entire backyard.
For organic pesticides, the go-to is Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) which you can spray on the plants, though I've heard some people inject it directly into the stems. Another good organic pesticide is tobacco, which used to be sold as tobacco dust, but I've had a hard time finding that anywhere nowadays, so I've been growing my own tobacco flowers. Neither will harm the pollinators or earthworms.
@@ahnanda68 I realized I made the mistake of growing the decorative Nicotiana alata, or flowering tobacco, instead of the Nicotiana rustica, or strong tobacco typically used for pesticides. I'm going to switch to the rustica variety for next year, but at least I have some pretty flowers in the meantime.
This is my first year gardening- any time I have a question I always search for Epic Gardening videos. Holy Grail. Thank you!!
Zucchini used to be the easiest crop for me to grow...that is until I moved to NC. Squash vine borers are the bain of my existence😫.
I’ve tried growing zucchini several times years ago and never had any luck. You’ve given me hope that maybe, just maybe, I’ll try growing it again. These are excellent tips that I wasn’t aware of years ago as a new gardener. I didn’t realize they were “easy” so I guess I had “user error”! 😂I’ll keep on growing, you keep on giving great advice. Thanks Kevin!
jacques was so happy about the zucc that he threw his hat out as a trade for whoever left it for him! what a nice guy.
I wrap my sterns with floral tape... Up about 6-8".. it helps!!
I like butternut squash, they're a bit big so id recommend honeynut squash, its the same flavor/texture and one fruit is enough for one person.
5 years ago when I started gardening I only was interested in really hot peppers. After my second year i decided to grow some cucumbers and tomatoes. The last 3 years I’ve been growing literally everything I can and there’s not much I really haven’t grown but this was my first year growing winter squash and I think it’s my favorite plant to grow now. As you can clearly tell gardening has completely pulled me in and I’m not upset about it.
What problems are you having growing squash? ⬇️
Swashbugs. I'm out there every day drowning them or squashing them with my fingers!
At first my plant just felt like it was only male flowers finally after it got established it has produced beautifully for me
Squash bugs - both the spotted variety and the classy-looking striped variety. I tried bombing them with diatomaceous (sp?) earth last week but I haven't seen any difference as of yet. Maybe I did it wrong? The garden bed definitely looks like Chernobyl Jr. happened but idk. Any and all tips would be appreciated! (Other than learning to share. I refuse.)
Slugs stripped plants early in their development, and now I'm about a month behind where I should be
@First Name Last Name nice - I'll try it. I have some on hand for when I declared war on the cabbage worms on behalf of my brocolli earlier this year. Thank you!
I ran out to the garden right before going to work this morning with a small watercolor paint brush in hand to pollinate the single female flower with the single male flower on one of my experimental squash plants. Right before I stuffed the brush into the male flower I remembered to check if any squash bee had spent the night in there! Thankfully it was empty, but I've rudely disturbed a bee's morning in the past.
My squash plants were almost all hit with mosaic virus this year. I'm devastated. Maybe a neighbor will leave us some zukes this time! ;)
I love how the format is very detailed, but moves quickly once the information is done. Love it!
I have to tell you I have watched/listened to all of your UA-cam videos and I have liked them all! They’ve all been entertaining, educational and relatable. Keep up the great work and keep having fun in the garden!
Thank you Christine!
it helps that he's pretty cute too 😅😂
I used your tips here in Australia to grow squash. I can proudly say of my 9 seeds I planted I've got 9 very healthy squash seedlings. Totally forgot about them and stuck them in a mini greenhouse.
I’m glad you talked about the silver leaf. This is the first year I had that happen. I googled it and that’s what I discovered. I don’t have powdery mildew but a lot of the leaves are turning a blotchy yellow. No brown spots. I read that it could be over watering or not enough nitrogen. I am doing container gardening so I’m thinking the latter as I have a couple of plants in a big tote bin.
I'm growing zucchini in EarthBoxes while using no-till methodology; yup, worms and all. They are raging. Getting ready to replant my broccoli and cauliflower EBs with peppers and peas. All I'll do is top with worm castings and bokashi, or malted grain, and plant between the stalks (leaving them for the worms and biology to continue doing their things).
EarthBox has yet to admit this hack works, in favor of selling their recharge/reamend kits, but it does!
ha! I was expecting you to pop in from the left! always fun to guess where you'll pop in from!
We've got a ton of tomatoes, 4 kinds of peppers, zucchini and yellow squash in...my elderberries are crazy...many other crops growing...I so love growing season ❤❤
We grow a ton of butternuts. The best thing about them is how easy they are to make into a soup and can. Zucchinni, on the other hand, is a weed that we end up giving most away.
Oh man I love zucchini.
Lol I never thought I'd go into watching a gardening video wondering where the speaker would pop out from!! Love the creativity 👏
Acceptance remedy is fair. I will say that I find the milk/water spray to be quite effective, however and obviously fairly cost effective. Apparently best to do when the sun is out/hitting the leaves, unlike most sprays.
Thank you Kevin for your videos. I love zucchini! I planted only two this year but next year I’m going to plant so many more and feed the my neighbors. I’m also waiting on my yellow scallop and my Peter Pan squashes to develop.
What kind of sunflowers are those in background? Mine dont have several flower heads like that…🤔
Haven't gardened for 5 yrs; so im not growing tomatoes, but a lot of squashes (except spaghetti). Used to have master garden license.
Really enjoy your videos.
Maybe something on drip lines & how to take a vacation.
I literally just got my first Cocozella squash pollinated today. Perfect timing! 👍
Well I’m a complete dunce. I’ve been using a paintbrush but that seems wayyy easier for hand pollination. I’m in a duplex neighborhood and no one else around me has a garden or even flowers, so I don’t have a ton of pollinators so my cucumbers aren’t getting pollinated fully. I will definitely try this!
Ha ha, I’ve left summer squash go too long many times 😂 You can still grate them up and make delicious zucchini bread. A coworker brought 3 ginormous ones into the office this morning, and I came home with 2 of them to grate up for bread. I freeze the rest of grated squash - put the amount needed for the recipe in a zip bag and it’s already measured for you.
I have 5 squash plants and have one Lakota and one spaghetti bearing a single fruit each😭😭😭 I bought some new bush variety spaghetti squash seeds and planted them today so hopefully they grow. I love squash and just want to grow all the varieties
I had 8 yellow squash plants this year and I’ve gotten 3 squash total, and 4 just died from the squash vine borer.
My strategy has been to start with a store bought gourd and start _all_ of the seeds, rather than buying a seed packet where you only have a limited number. I would also lean more towards Cucurbita moschata cultivars, as they're more resistant to borers due to not having hollow stems.
It's been tough to grow them in 115° weather😒 I have even doubled on my shade cloth to keep more sun off the plants but still getting some sun. Summers in the desert are tough.
Idk what your land allotment is but if you have the space, build a green house.
I didn't even plant squash - I used some soil from my neighbour's grow bags the previous year and it just exploded with squash seedlings! They are also constantly sprouting in my compost bin!
The Jacques hat toss haha amazing
i love growing squash. my centercut squash from row 7 are my current fav this summer.
Kevin, I’ve had trouble with eggplants. Can you make a video about eggplant care?
Thanks for the info, Kevin! Really needed it.
Squash always makes me feel like a good gardener cuz it always produces SO MUCH. I'm always giving some to my neighbors and bringing it to work for my coworkers.
I’m having issues with my plants. I’m pollinating them by hand using a paint brush but the fruit are still not maturing. Apart from this the plants look really healthy! Any ideas?
Me too. And now that the bees are around, my plants have slowed down.
Hooollly cow! Planting them slightly later. GENIUS! So happy I watched this. THANK YOU!!!
I just checked the zucchini squash today when I was watering it and it is like a full three inches taller than yesterday! Great video kev
I can't believe it. You made iit into our local paper the Bangor Dailey News, Bangor Maine.. how to bottom water seedlings!!! I loved seeing the article as I already Knew that from you.
Ants have been the primary pollinators in my zucchini. I find them marching from flower to flower and my harvest has been abundant!
I must say, a bugs life hits a little harder nowadays. Especially the evil grasshoppers.🤬
I love Kevin’s sense of humor 🥳
Lmao. I swear... half the time I just watch these videos to see the Kevin/Jacque antics. Y'all are such dorks and I love it.
That being said, I'll be interested to see the squash pest/disease vid. I'm growing pumpkins so I could use the tips
Squash bugs got my zucs and squash so I pulled them all a week ago...now they have ruined my melons and cucs. 😬 This was my second year gardening and first for squash. I will get ahead of them next year.
Acceptance Remedy 😁 I have to remember that 😊 Thanks for all the great info
The hat throw at the end though! hahahaha
That was very helpful. I have never planted anything but I want to start. Thank you!
😭😭😭 my zucchini (20 plants) got eradicated by squash worms this summer and I got a grand total of one zucchini from those plants before I had to remove them all, I’m so jealous of your harvest!
Same here.
I can see vine borer damage in mine too. tried the 'surgery and bury' method waiting to see if they will flop or not
💔 I truly hope that next gardening season will be more abundant
I only got 1 from my zucchini and nothing from my spaghetti squash. Vine borers destroyed them. I was able to dig 3 out of my spaghetti but it still died. Not to mention the crazy amount of squash bugs. Was a nightmare this year.
That happened to me last year. This year I've been spraying my vulnerable squash plants with a solution of BT + tobacco and it seems to be working. I'm also growing resistant varieties, like butternut and other cultivars of Cucurbita moschata.
I learned last year that those bees that hang out inside squash flowers are actually their own type! They feed on pretty much only squash flowers.
Spring is coming up for me soon. I’m going to buy some zucchini and other seeds. Going to be a productive summer 😊
You’d be surprised how bad I am at growing things but I would love to give pumpkins a try, they’re so gorgeous!
Always good stuff, thanks for sharing
My yellow squash really got eaten by squash vine borers in Spring. I pulled them out and am trying them in a new spot - my Birdie's bed! I made a simple PEX pipe hoop frame & because it's quite hot in the FL sun right now, I'm trying a 40% shade cloth over the 6 in 1 bed, hoping to keep the squash moths out while cooling things a bit. The air temp outside the shade cloth in the sun is 114 degrees many days and the bed gets full sun. Under the shade cloth it's about 10 degrees cooler. Just planted so this is an experiment. I have the tall bed so at least now I can more easily see the vines & keep an eye on things than when they were down in ground.
😻💫 The blessings are back!?! ✨️ Yes, I will cultivate that like button!! I'm determined to successfully grow summer squash this year!
I literally just injected my squash with bt to get rid of squash vine borers. And tomorrow I will be putting foil on the younger plants. Unfortunately, since I'm in MI I don't think I can wait that long. But do you know if planting mint around them will also help to prevent pests?
Thanks for the information!
Loved that ending! 🤣🤣
I don’t wait till winter to harvest my butternuts since I like them young and still green. You can cook them with skin seeds and all.
My Asian friend introduced me to giant wintermelon two years ago. I’ve never heard or seen any seeds for sale but I bought a slice from an Asian market to try cook in stew and loving it. Saved some seeds for spring planting. Planted just one seed to try and now my entire 6x6 square garden has been taken over four times by one amazing seed. They’re everywhere on the ground, trellises and fence. One fruit has the propensity to grow between 25 to 50 pounds each but I started harvesting early when they’re about 12 pounds or less. They’re good in smoothies too.
My Asian friend took his harvests to the Asian store. Last year he sold 20 fruits for $450 bucks. Now there’s some spending money for new truck load of compost.
I have some cream of the crop acorn squash growing I am so excited for them!!
Another great video with epic ending!
Gotta love that ending hahahaha
God I loved the ending so much!! Wholesome and funny
I tried the cocozelle on your rec., excellent, 3 plants and I to give some away
Squash! Yum!
I always tell people to grow zucchini as their first crop if they're nervous about killing plants. They grow like weeds and produce heavily, perfect for building confidence
I have two sqaushes! Gold Rush F1 Zucchini and ButterBush Butternut sqaush.
I hope I get to leave some on my bf door
Lol so many places to pop up from, love it.
With just a handful of squash plants, a family of three can eat squash 3 times a week and quickly get sick of it. More varieties cures that! I love pattison panache vert & blanc.
yeah, this year im having squash in some shape or form for dinner every 2nd day, they grow like MAD.
My courgettes, zucchini rather, have a west facing garden, so they are safe from the sun from 3pm on. Still they get about 11 hours aday sun!
I have sprayed them with peppermint oil to hide them from borer bugs.
I am in BC Canada. Cheers.
I laughed out loud at the end, well done!
Just walked in from looking at my squash(somethings eating the leaves) while getting some basil for dinner.
I like your outside seed starting. I wonder whether I could try that in my temperate climate for fall crops and starting cuttings for fall planting and stratification in the winter.
I struggled with vine borers my first time growing squash.... lost all 4 of my plants. My cedar mulch did not prevent them because what happens is the adult moth lands on top of the plant (not near the ground) and lays eggs on the stems which later hatch and burrow inside. I cut them out like he said, but sadly the plants still didn't make it.
My best advice along with his, if you have the time for it, just inspect the plant often. If you see black specs (looks like a single piece of crushed black pepper) on the stems, those are the borer eggs. Just pick it off.
Then the larvae never hurt the plant at all.
I totally get the logic of hand pollination but it went wrong for me. On the female flower with fruit I had hand pollinated from a male flower with a soft paint brush. Maybe I was too late but it got blossom end rot and fell off the plant 🤔
My winter squash are getting pretty big I'm kind of excited I've never grew spaghetti squash this is my first year
We so love our squash & Grow tons of it all year, due to making free compost tea; thank goodness we here in Southern California do not have those squash bugs, but I am ready for them. I have figured out how to not get powdery mildew now. Nice Video!
Very happy we don't deal vine vine borers here!
I don't think Northern California has those Vine bugs either
@@waterisgold
Central California has those pincer bugs! I think they are the culprits where my cucumber and zucchini looked like tiny lawnmowers went along them! 😳
I peel and cut my overgrown squash into small pieces and cook down with lemon juice. Then use in place of apples in "crumble" or "squares" recipes. People have thought it was apple.
Y’all gotta wish me luck. I live in an area with very minimal biodiversity (monoculture lawns, brand new suburb that ripped down native habitats, that sorta deal) and I’ve seen bees in my neighbourhood literally once after two or three years here. Planting plenty of pollination attractors, but still need a bit of magic!
Could you give everyone of what you thought were the best growing and tasting vegetables varieties you grew this summer? Thanks
Thanks for taking us for harvesting the squash and we cant found that big squash here in Indonesia
I think you need to do the video on treating the pests and diseases of the squash now. I've been taking care of mine for a few weeks and I'm in the Northeast. Luckily I know how to treat and with what but many gardeners do not. I'd also be interested in any homemade remedies to add to my arsenal. I have quite the "cookbook" now on treatments for different pests and diseases. Some days I feel like the mad scientist mixing up my concoctions but most of them do work and cost a lot less.
Mine is doing great this year.
Glad to hear it!
First time gardener, my zucchini wasn’t growing for some time. Used some “natural” high nitrogen fertilizer (thanks hubby bahaha) and it’s finally growing! Lots of male buds but none flowering yet, still yet to see a female. Hoping I can get some bc this year I tried zucchini for the first time and I’m slightly obsessed 😅
Zucchini is pretty good but it's one of the blander tasting squashes. In this video Jaques goes over his favorite varieties: ua-cam.com/video/3Q_zME49rNY/v-deo.html
Sounds like a problem I was having with soil that lacked nutrients. You added Nitrogen to address the growth, but maybe your plants need more P/K to set their blossoms and grow fruit.
I have only gotten one female on my zucchini plant & it didn’t fully pollinate, even though I hand pollinated & there are bees buzzing around. It’s been 3 months of growth- plant looks good, maybe a lil small (it’s in a 19” container), leaves are healthy, lots of males, but no females. I have noticed the flowers are falling off what seems quickly, but maybe it’s normal & it’s hard to find them open. It’s my first time planting zucchini.
Wonderful crop .. good tips
We had a vine borer larvae get into one of the spaghetti squash fruit itself! Stunk to high heaven. I might have saved 2/3 of the fruit if I tried.
I'm a new subscriber! I need to go find your video on powdery mildew.
Thank you! 🌻
My zucchini has vine borers and I have been working at destroying them everyday. I hope I get at least one squash our of each plant before the borers kill it off. No matter how many of those guys I cut out of there, I keep finding more!
I’m a huge fan
Thanks for sharing! As a balcony gardener with a shorter growing season and enough space for only 2 squash plants, powdery mildew is my greatest enemy. Acceptance and succession sewing are not an option. I cannot wait for the video on how to fight against this dreaded desease. This year I'm growing my first zucchini and I'm determined to have at least a few to harvest 😎
I spray my leaves from time to time with a baking soda/washing liquid/water mixture and it seems to do quite well. I also prune any leaves that are showing advanced signs of powdery mildew
@@Charsenal Hello. Thanks for the tips - I'll definitely try it out. I've been inspecting the leaves every day & getting rid of all the ones that looked suspicious. So far only a few spots, but I need to be ready 😎
I love your videos. Thanks for the time and effort you put into them. Can you share sources of kumquats in SD this time of year? Either stores or other sources? Thanks. Gophers ate the roots and killed my two dwarf plants. I will try a container next.
Great video💚💚👌👌👌
Until this video I was unaware you had organic seeds available. Thank you for that information and if possible could you post a link.
I got two before the bugs killed my plant. I sowed more seed this week. 🤞
my baby blue hubbard squash was making me so happy, growing so prolifically...then suddenly some of the stems started wilting and dying. but only some of them. I saw a tip to cut a stem and put it in water to see if it puts out a milky color to test for bacterium wilt, and that didn't happen. and I didn't see any signs of bugs (no holes, no buts inside or outside the stems, etc) either. the stems it happened to were kind of random, too. a couple of its original stems, some of the newer ones, and they were ones that were on all parts of the hill I'm growing them on.
My yellow squash and zucchini are only producing male flowers 😭
Great info. I am in Canada. I have a couple of questions. I am trying grow Butternut in my small backyard in bags. I have been told not to grow my pumpkin there because squashes cross pollinate easily. I have pickling cucumbers growing too. Do summer and winter squashes cross breed too?
BTW when the squash gets big enough the raccons leave it alone, presumably due to the cucurbitacin. Raccoons do dig up seedlings. Starting elsewhere may be a good answer. Squirrels dig up everything.
Not sure about the cross pollination between winter and summer squash, but cross pollination only shows in the seeds, not the fruit. So if you’re saving seeds🤷♂️. If you just want the fruits, no worries
We've had a terrible fight against raccoons here in my southern California yard. But I've found that raccoons really don't like sharp pokey things! So I partially planted a lovely bunch of white plastic forks and they've left my garden alone for 6 months!👏👏👏😃
@@natecavender897 I save seeds. Part of the reason is to find seeds aclimatised to this environment. Squash is too big to try overwintering cuttings. Seeds it is.
@@donnaadams7805 Interesting, I will try that. I got some wild raspberry with that intent. The smelly things do little. The good peppers the sample and spit out. They do that with the sweet peppers too.
I don't think they will cross pollinate, because butternut is Cucurbita moschata and pumpkin is Cucurbita pepo. You do however have to watch out for cross pollination between different cultivars of the same species. One year I ended up with spaghetti squash that was spherical and orange like a pumpkin, even though it still had the texture of a spaghetti squash on the inside.
I also have had problems with animals digging out my seedlings, though it was rodents, and they decapitated a lot of the squash I tried to direct sow. I had better luck letting the seedlings grow for a few weeks indoors before transplanting them out, and then covering them with cloches until the plant grew too large for the covers. Rat traps and fumigation of the rodent burrows also helped.
Squash is a great and easy plant to grow BUT the squash bugs always kill my plants before maturity.