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VegetablesTenderAnnual
Squash
Winter squash covers a wide group of productive sprawling plants grown for richly flavoured fruits that can be roasted, mashed, stuffed or stored. Compared with courgettes, the fruits are left to mature fully so they develop hard skins and denser flesh for later use.
Basic information
Category
Vegetables
Lifecycle
Annual
Hardiness
Tender
Planting partners
2 companions · 1 crop to avoid
Growth profile
Days to harvest
100 days
Germination window
5–10 days
Germination temperature
20–21 °C
Plant spacing
120 cm
Row spacing
150 cm
Sowing depth
2.5 cm
Height
45 cm
Spread
120 cm
Calendar
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
Sow Indoors
Sow Outdoors
Plant Out
Flowering / Harvest
Timings based on average frost dates in the UK. Sign up to set your frost dates.
Care tips
Allow squash plants generous space or train where suitable, and keep roots mulched so soil stays evenly moist in summer. Wait until fruits are fully mature with hard skins before cutting, then store only sound unblemished fruits in a dry airy place.
Common pests
Slugs, aphids, powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic virus.
