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Choose a location that has warm,
well-drained and fertile soil. Work in plenty of organic matter and
mulch to conserve moisture, as squash are heavy water consumers. Sow
directly in the garden after threat of frost has passed. Sow one
inch deep in hills or rows spaced 24 to 30 inches apart. When laying out your garden, remember
to consider the growing habits of the varieties that you are
planting. Some bush-types are compact while some vining types
require a tremendous amount of space. Harvest time will also vary by
type.
Squash
are typically categorized as summer or winter varieties. The
immature fruits of summer varieties are eaten fresh, while the
winter squash are harvested in late fall after they are mature and
the skins have toughened, stored in a cool, dry location, and used
into the winter.
[ Click here for basic seed saving tips
]
(Seed count varies by
type)
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 Benning's
Green Tint Scallop
(C. pepo)
55 days An old variety dating to about 1914.
A beautiful "Patty Pan-type" strain. The fruits are a
gray-green color, scallop-shaped and best harvested at three
inches in diameter. Bush-type. About 10 seeds per gram.
[See also 'Early White Bush
Scallop' and 'Yellow
Bush Scallop'] |
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 Cocozelle
(Cocozella di Napoli) (C. pepo)
50 days
Although we harvest the fruits when they are eight to ten
inches in length, MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux (1885) stated, "All
through Italy . . . the fruit is eaten quite young, when it is
hardly the size of a cucumber, sometimes even before the flower
has opened, when the ovary, which is scarcely as long or as thick
as the finger, is gathered for use. The plants, thus
deprived of their undeveloped fruits, continue to flower for
several months most profusely . . ."This
Italian heirloom is a garden staple. The plants are
bush-type producing long cylindrical zucchini fruit that are dark
green striped in lighter green. The flesh is greenish white
and firm. About 8 seeds per gram.
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Dwarf
Summer Crookneck (C. pepo)
50 days
A standard
for the home garden. The bushes are very prolific and the fruits
are smooth and light yellow. They become orange and warted at
maturity. About 12 seeds per gram. |
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 Early Prolific
Straightneck (C. pepo)
(about
10 seeds per gram)
42 days The standard yellow, straight-necked type, summer
squash in many parts of the US. The fruits taper towards the stem end and are a nice
lemon yellow color. They are mature at twelve to fourteen inches long but are tender and
succulent when they are five to six inches long. An "All-American Selectionฎ"
winner in 1938. Bush-type. About 15 seeds per gram.
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Tatume
(C. pepo)
45 days
A vining plant, the fruit can be harvested and
eaten young (about 45 days) as a summer-type squash or left
to mature as a winter squash. At the summer stage, harvest the
green, round fruits when they are about the size of a baseball. They
are unusually firm for a summer squash and have a fine flavor. Leave
them on the vine and they will mature to a diameter of six to eight inches
and golden-yellow in color. About 8 seeds per gram.
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 Yellow
Bush Scallop
(C. pepo)
50 days
Bush-type plants that produce
nice yields of scallop-shaped fruits with bright yellow skin.
Use at the immature stage for mini vegetable or at any point
thereafter. Creamy texture and very flavorful.
About 12 seeds per gram.
[See also 'Benning's Green
Tint Scallop' and 'Yellow
Bush Scallop']
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 Zucchini,
Black Beauty (C.
pepo)
(about
6 seeds per gram)
60 days
At usable stage, the fruits are six to eight inches by two
inches and dark green. Black-green to almost black at maturity.
Introduced and an "All-American Selectionฎ"
winner in 1957. Bush-type. About 7 seeds per gram. |
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 Zucchini,
Dark Green (C. pepo)
(about 6 seeds per gram)
50 days
The bush-type plants are vigorous and produce early.
The fruits are straight, smooth, mottled dark green. The
flesh has a pale green tint to it, is firm and has a fine
flavor. Best picked at six to eight inches. About 7
seeds per gram. |
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 Zucchini,
Grey (C. pepo)
(about
6 seeds per gram)
45 days
Harvest at six to eight inches. Fruits are medium green flecked with grey.
Popular in the Southwest and Mexico. Introduced in 1957.
Bush-type. About 10 seeds per gram. |
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 Zucchini,
Round (C. pepo)
(about
6 seeds per gram)
45 days Speckled
green leaves on a bush-type plant. The fruits are best used when
three to four inches in diameter. Fast growing fruits that are ready to eat
about seven days after flowering.These squash have a very mild taste
and are a heavy producer. Keep fruits picked for continuous
harvest. About 9 seeds per gram. |
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