Cucumbers are for beauty, zucchinis are for comfort, and melons are for parties. Summer squashes are cresting their seasonal wave. It turns out they also have a lot to teach about resilience in times of scarcity, climate change, and even skin care!
It’s about time that we honor our friends, the Squash Family (Cucurbitaceae), for all they’ve already done this year. By now, in late August, the plants on this farm have produced thousands of pounds of food for hundreds of local people. Later, in September/October, it will be time to harvest and cure the winter squash. This year it’s delicata, butternut, and acorn to be exact.
As we witness the state of hunger in the global and local population, including Gaza, Sudan, and the Congo, it’s important that we all take a moment to thank the Earth and whatever luminaries or higher powers you know for these plants that produce so much good food for us. And not only us, but for the rest of the ecosystem as well.
Nectar and pollen for the pollinators, worms feast on the seconds in the compost, and of course voles that feed the snakes, owls, fox, mink, and more who grace this farm. That is the greater purpose of any ecological farm after all: for humans to re-join the ecosystem, regenerate whatever bonds have been broken there, and ultimately contribute to the cycles of life. All crops are a result of thousands of years of collaboration between us and the plants, animals, or mushrooms we grow.
Growing Squash Family Crops
Squash are one of our mainstay crops, producing reliably (almost) every year since we began growing. First-time gardeners are introduced to the feeling of abundance with their zucchini harvests. When they are healthy and happy, the plants seem to glow a lush green. A very scratchy green, that is.
If you’ve never harvested from squash family plants before, I recommend wearing pants, gloves, and/or long sleeves. The spines on the stems and leaves are called trichomes, or plant hairs. They cause irritation on the skin, as a defensive mechanism against mammals. It’s effective, especially in the heat of the day when you’re in a full sweat with all of your skin’s pores wide open!
Fredericksburg Regional Foodbank includes squash among the top 5 crop picks for a garden that fights hunger. It’s no wonder why, as the sheer amount of food that can be harvested from each plant is so high! Estimates range from 4-10 lbs per plant. Growing both summer and winter squash keeps you stocked from June till March, when most of the winter squash have either been used up or spoiled. That is an extremely impressive window, compared to other plant families!
In the kitchen, squash are a constant companion. I am a big fan of zucchini in pretty much anything when it’s around. All I need is a couple of eggs, a zuc, some kind of onion or garlic, salt and pepper to make a perfect breakfast. It’s a friendly vegetable, getting along with everything from fennel, to kale, to carrots, to chile peppers. When cooked, it’s a soft and easy food to eat for babies and toddlers, or when you’re recovering from an oral procedure.
It’s also a valuable asset if you have livestock. The chickens love to peck at the seeds of the overripe cucumbers and zucchini. They’ll love the winter squash seeds too, if/when I feel like sharing! When Caleb raised pigs years ago, they happily gorged on the fruit. Even when we have no animals, it’s a cherished food of the worms that visit our compost pile.
For gardeners, you may want to steer clear of too many squash family plants because of how much space they take up. Zucchini and patty pans are more compact than the vining cucumbers, melons, winter squash and pumpkins. In organic systems where no herbicide is being used, it can become very difficult to keep beds weeded as hoes can’t make it through sprawling vines. When hand-weeding or harvesting, you have to carefully watch your step, so that you don’t snap the vines or crush the fruit.
What seems to work best is a more expansive space where the plants can grow to their hearts content. With winter squash, the fruit are easily revealed as the leaves die back in the fall. Summer squash requires frequent harvesting, and fruits balloon as soon as you turn your back. If you have the space and you don’t mind leaving it alone for a while, plant your favorite melons and winter squash. For a small garden plot, opt for 1 zucchini plant and get the other squashes from a neighbor, farmer, grocer, or a food pantry near you!
Squash family drama: pests and diseases
Here comes trouble. Whenever we say the word “Squash” three times, these insects and diseases appear like Beetlejuice. Thanks, as always, to the wonderful University of Wisconsin extension office for these.
Squash Vine Borer - the larval stage of a native moth, Melittia cucurbitae, eats through the stem, beheading plants overnight. If this has happened to your plants, check the base of the stem for a white larva with a black head. See photo below for the adult stage. It’s actually pretty beautiful!
Vine Borer - moth. Winterspring Farm 2024 Squash Bugs - These assassin-type arthropods are prolific. Their clusters of tiny orange eggs on the underside of the leaves hatch into thousands of nymphs, all sap-suckers. If an infestation occurs, they can drain the plant of its sap and kill it quickly.
Squash bug. Photo cred: Colorado State University Cucumber beetle - The squash family’s equivalent of a tick. It is, however, another native insect to North America. These beetles chew holes in the leaves and flowers, which would be significant alone. They also vector many diseases that ultimately end up killing the plant.
Cucumber beetles - Winterspring Farm Bacterial wilt - A bacterial infection that blocks the xylelm and phloem of the stems, producing wilted, and then dried-up plants.
Photo cred: Colorado University Fungal wilt - the same as above, but with a fungal infection
Powdery mildew - a surface-growing fungus that covers the leaves in dust.
Downy Mildew. Photo cred: University of Maryland
How do we mitigate these things, if not with pesticides? With a diversity of tactics. AKA, a tried-and-true Integrated Pest Management program.
Crop rotation is key. The diseases can carry over in the soil bed, so alternating squash crops with more wilt-resistant varieties. The same goes for the insects, which complete their life cycle in the soil.
Insect netting, strategically applied. Blocking the flying insects from getting in can significantly extend and improve the life of your squash plants. We use it during the establishment period before we begin harvesting to let young plants establish, or any time flying pests are present.
No straw mulch on squash plants, because it’s the preferred bedding of the squash bugs. Either bare soil, or other barrier works best. That also keeps the soil from splashing up on the plants when it rains.
Proper spacing for maximum airflow. Once the moisture gets trapped between the stems, it’s easy for an infection to grow.
Sticky traps in the greenhouse protect baby plants and let us know when pests are present before they take over
Hand-removal of eggs and bugs when possible
It’s no accident that these domesticated squashes taste so good, are so large and productive, and can be grown easily in a wide variety of climate zones. Squash as we know it exists thanks to indigenous seed savers and farmers in North America, specifically southern Mexico. The often referenced practice of the Three Sisters, or corn, beans, and squash being grown together synergistically, was their invention and is still used today on farms on and off Native American reservations.
I hope this helps some new and aspiring squash growers out there. Stay tuned! There is so much going on with the evolutionary history of the Squash family, and how it converges with ours, that I will have to reserve the rest for a part II! Coming up next week, same time, same place.
-Roxoxox
