apart in rows 3 feet apart.
Squash, Winter and Summer
_Sowing date:_ Having warm-enough soil is everything. At Elkton I
first attempt squash about April 15. In the Willamette, May 1 is
usual. Farther north, squash may not come up until June 1. Dry
gardeners should not transplant squash; the taproot must not be
broken.
_Spacing:_ The amount of room to give each plant depends on the
potential of a specific variety's maximum root development. Most
vining winter squash can completely occupy a 10-foot-diameter
circle. Sprawly heirloom summer squash varieties can desiccate an
8-or 9-foot-diameter circle. Thin each hill to one plant, not two or
more as is recommended in the average garden book. There must be no
competition for water.
_Irrigation:_ With winter storage types, an unirrigated vine may
yield 15 pounds of squash after occupying a 10-foot-diameter circle
for an entire growing season. However, starting about July 1, if you
support that vine by supplying liquid fertilizer every two to three
weeks you may harvest 60 pounds of squash from the same area. The
first fertigation may only need 2 gallons. Then mid-July give 4;
about August 1, 8; August 15, feed 15 gallons. After that date,
solar intensity and temperatures decline, growth rate slows, and
water use also decreases. On September 1 I'd add about 8 gallons and
about 5 more on September 15 if it hadn't yet rained significantly.
Total water: 42 gallons. Total increase in yield: 45 pounds. I'd say
that's a good return on water invested.
_Varieties:_ For winter squash, all the vining winter varieties in
the C. maxima or C. pepo family seem acceptably adapted to dry
gardening. These include Buttercup, Hubbard, Delicious, Sweet Meat,
Delicata, Spaghetti, and Acorn. I wouldn't trust any of the newer
compact bush winter varieties so popular on raised beds. Despite
their reputation for drought tolerance C. mixta varieties (or cushaw
squash) were believed to be strictly hot desert or humid-tropical
varieties, unable to mature in our cool climate. However, Pepita
(PEA) is a mixta that is early enough and seems entirely unbothered
by a complete lack of irrigation. The enormous vine sets numerous
good keepers with mild-tasting, light yellow flesh.
Obviously, the compact bush summer squash varieties so popular these
days are not good candidates for withstanding long periods without
irrigation. The old heirlooms like Black Zucchini (ABL) (not Black
Beauty!) and w
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