Growing Squash: From Plant to Plate

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Summer and winter quashes can be used in a wide range of recipes--in pies, casseroles, even fruit cocktails.
Summer and winter quashes can be used in a wide range of recipes--in pies, casseroles, even fruit cocktails.
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Zucchini and Butternut squashes are old favorites, but consider trying a more unusual variety, like chayote.
Zucchini and Butternut squashes are old favorites, but consider trying a more unusual variety, like chayote.
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Summer squash, like the pattypan, are harvested while still young and tender, from 50 to 70 days. Winter squash, like the Hubbard and acorn, are meant to be harvested when fully mature, around 75 to 120 days.
Summer squash, like the pattypan, are harvested while still young and tender, from 50 to 70 days. Winter squash, like the Hubbard and acorn, are meant to be harvested when fully mature, around 75 to 120 days.

When Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, first became acquainted with squash, he called them “vine apples of many colors.” That’s a more poetic description of the varied vegetables than our shortened version of the Native American word askutasquash, meaning “eaten raw.” But as Shakespeare might have noted, a squash by any other name would taste as delicious. It would be as nutritious, too, because vine apples, in all their myriad forms, are good sources of vitamin A and provide important minerals like potassium, phosphorus and calcium, yet they contain very few calories and almost no fat.

Many kinds of squash, sliced raw, can be used in salads and served with dips. They can be baked, boiled, steamed, sautéed or deep-fried. (Many children are particularly fond of summer-squash “french fries.”) They can also be used–sliced, chopped or puréed–in a variety of casseroles, breads and even desserts. This versatility comes in handy because growing squash yields such a prolific harvest that they are likely to grace a gardener’s table for many months. Fortunately, there’s a nearly overwhelming variety of types to choose from, so it’s not difficult to find more than one that will please the palate.

Types of Squash: What to Grow

There are the two main categories of squash: summer and winter. Summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) are believed to have originated in North America. They require full sun and are harvested while still young and tender (some in less than 50 days; most in 60 to 70 days), and include such well-known varieties as zucchini (both green and yellow types); crookneck and straightneck squash (both generally yellow); and scallop, or pattypan, squash (usually white, but sometimes yellow). These warm-weather vegetables will keep for only a week or so in the refrigerator, so you’ll probably want to can or freeze a large part of your crop.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1989
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