Green gardening: growing squash and pumpkin

Despite their difference in taste and appearance, the two main types of squash -- summer and winter -- are closely related botanically and are grown and cultivated in the same way.

Along with melons and cucumbers, they belong to the gourd family, all members of which need a lot of room to grow. Summer squashes usually grow as sprawling bush plants. Most winter squashes grow as vines, requiring even more space than summer squashes. Pumpkins and inedible ornamental gourds fall into the winter squash category.

• All squashes need a rich, loamy soil that will retain moisture, and grow best when nutrients are added in the form of humus or fertilizer.
• Regular watering is essential for summer squash after transplanting and during flowering and fruiting.
• The deeper-rooted winter squash needs watering only in dry weather.
• Squash is usually planted in mounds of earth called hills.
• To prepare a hill, dig a hole 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 inches) deep and about 60 centimetres (25 inches) across.
• Fill the bottom of the hole with compost or well-rotted manure to a depth of 10 to 15 centimetres (four to six inches).
• Then shovel the excavated soil back into the hole, piling it in until it forms a soil mound about 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) high.
• Space the hills 1.2 to 1.8 metres (four to six feet) apart for bush varieties and 2.5 to 3 metres (seven to ten feet) apart for pumpkins.

Squash can be sown outdoors at the same time that tomato and eggplant seedlings are set out — when night temperatures remain above 13°C (55°F).

• Hasten germination by soaking the seeds overnight before planting.
• Sow six seeds per hill, about three centimetres (one inch) deep. When the seedlings are approximately 15 centimetres (six inches) tall, thin them to the two or three strongest plants in each hill.
• Squash seeds can also be sown indoors, about three to four weeks earlier.
• Simply place two or three seeds on their sides in small pots of soil mix, cover, and water well.
• Choose the strongest seedlings for transplanting. Seedlings can be set back by transplanting, however, and you must be very careful not to disturb their roots.
• If you have provided sufficient compost or manure during soil preparation, you should not have to add fertilizer. If you are not sure that your squash has enough nutrients, sidedress with a balanced organic fertilizer around each plant when it has put out a few leaves.
• Squash needs a lot of moisture. Water the plants slowly and deeply during dry spells, but resist the temptation to soak them constantly.
• Mulching is especially beneficial; besides keeping the soil moist and weeds down, a layer of mulch under the vines protects the fruits against insects and keeps them from rotting.

To harvest squash, cut off the fruits with a knife.

• A summer squash should be cut when it is still small and when you can easily pierce its skin with a fingernail. Pick elongated squashes when they are about five centimetres (two inches) in diameter; pick scallops when they are about 10 centimetres (four inches).
• Winter varieties should be left on the vine until their rinds are hard. Cure them in the sun or in a warm, ventilated area for a week or so; then store them in a dry place where the temperature is 13° to 16°C (55° to 61°F).

See, growing your own pumpkins and squash isn't that hard. Grow these delicious vegetables to your garden to add some colour and be prepared for Halloween and Thanksgiving!