Mum’s Super Squash Planting Method

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Jono in the allotment years with 13 Comments

One crop I’ve always had great success with is squash. I grow lots of them, for many different reasons. They’re delicious, expensive in the shops, look great, and store for ages. If I could only grow one thing, my head might well tell me to choose squashes.

However, I cannot take credit for the quality of the squashes. The plaudits lay with my mum, and her awesome method for planting out the squashes.

Step one is to dig a hole about the depth of a spade:

Next, scoop in a few trowel fulls of well rotted manure, mix it into the soil with the trowel, and water generously.

Once the water has drained, pop the plant out of its pot, and sit it in the hole.

Fill the hole in with the dug out soil until the roots are covered. The plant should still be lower than the top of the hole, leaving it sat in a depression, like a fort. When you water the plant, the juice will then be trapped in around the roots, just where it is needed most.

Put a stick in next to the plant. This will mark where the roots are when it goes nuts in mid summer and the bed turns in to one big squash vine.

Finally, give it a water. You can see below how the water stays in the depression.

With plenty of watering and some nice hot sun I’ll hopefully need the wheelbarrow to get my squashes home again this Autumn.

Tagged beginners, butternut squash, courgettes, planting

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13 Comments

Paul @ GrowingOurOwnJune 3, 2011 at 7:10 amReply

Fantasticly timed post! I’m planting out my squash at the weekend and even though we had a bumper crop last year I was wondering if there was any way I could do even better this year… Looks like this is a great plan! Thanks
MariaJune 3, 2011 at 9:39 amReply

do your mum’s super methods apply to courgette? I’ve planted two of mine out, but I am coddling the final one indoors for a bit longer – it’s huge and looks like it’s going to set flower indoors if I’m not careful!

lots of manure, that’s what you need. Sadly I buy mine in bags from the garden centre, but still..
- JonoJune 3, 2011 at 10:50 amReplyAuthor
  
  Hi Maria & Paul, thanks for your comments.
  
  I should have said I planted my courgettes and cucumbers this way too. They’re all basically the same veg so should work the same way.
  
  Good luck!
HelenJune 3, 2011 at 11:26 amReply

Hi – I am doing something similar for my squashes. I read it in a book but good to know it works.

Cant wait for my first squash harvest
- JonoJune 4, 2011 at 4:16 pmReplyAuthor
  
  Hi Helen and Croila,
  
  You won’t be disappointed! What varieties are you growing?
CroilaJune 3, 2011 at 12:22 pmReply

I’ve never eaten a squash, never mind grown one! However, I’m trying a courgette (plant) for the first time this year. It’s awfully small right now, only about four inches high, but I’m going to plant it out in a container this evening and see what happens
xmarkstheplotJune 4, 2011 at 8:44 pmReply

I’m deffo doing this… dug the bed today and am planting out tomorrow. I agree with the above poster – perfectly timed blog. Pumpkins and squash are my favourite veg to grow – the colour is amazing against the green foliage and the taste is wonderful too.
LeaJune 7, 2011 at 10:18 pmReply

I planted the last of my Squash type plants this evening, had to wait till after the rain just so I could put the fork in the ground as it’s been like concrete at the allotment.
My savings for this year now total £35.91, I’ve harvested the grand total of £92.18 worth of fruit and veg from the plot so far this year and I’m starting to struggle to keep up with the Raspberries. I need bigger containers for my next trip to pick
Good luck for the wedding, hope you have great weather.
- JonoJune 8, 2011 at 6:24 amReplyAuthor
  
  Hi Lea,
  
  That’s great news!
  
  I’m jealous of your raspberries. Mine are yet to do anything much.
  
  It seems soft fruit is the thing to grow for the biggest savings.
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