SUMMER SQUASH GROWING GUIDE- Timing, Watering, Pollination & More

If summer squash has overtaken your garden or died before it even got going, you're not alone. I've made all the mistakes so you don't have to. Today I'm sharing my five must-know tips to grow summer squash, even if you live in a hot climate like Arizona. At the end, I'll share the one thing I always do that has made the biggest difference in the health of my plants and the size of my harvests. I'm Angela from Growing in the Garden. My garden is in Mesa, Arizona. I want to help you succeed, even if you're gardening in tough conditions. Squash is a warm season crop. If you plant seeds too early, they'll rot. Wait until soil temperatures are at least 70 degrees before planting seeds in your garden. Although squash does best planted from seeds, while you're waiting for that soil to warm up, you can plant transplants. Choose young plants and handle the roots carefully so you don't disturb the roots. And then, once the soil is warm enough, plant a few seeds directly in the garden. Here in the low desert, squash does not like our hot summer temperatures, so we have two planting windows, one in the spring and one at the end of summer. That lets your squash grow and develop during warm but not hot temperatures. Plant in an area with lots of sunlight and rich, well-draining soil. I always amend the planting area with compost and worm castings before planting. Summer squash has thin skin and doesn't store well, unlike winter squash that we allow to mature fully on the vine and stores for months. I like to plant a few different varieties of summer squash all around my garden so I always have something to harvest. Here are a few of my favorite varieties that grow well here in the low desert. Yellow straightneck, black beauty, gray zucchini, patty pan types. Most summer squash are bush varieties, but if you want to try a fun vining type that will quickly cover a trellis, grow tatumi. It's prolific and delicious. Not a lot of room? You could also grow bush types vertically. Some varieties, like rise and shine, were bred for this. If you have issues with squash vine borer, growing vertically is a great option. They are less susceptible to that pest. If your squash is bitter, cracking, or rotting, it's probably a watering issue. Squash needs even watering. Nice deep watering that allows the roots to grow deep. Top with mulch to keep that moisture in the soil. When it comes to watering, it's easy to make mistakes. You can see the difference between these two beds. The difference? Watering. They were planted at the same time, but the water to this bed got shut off twice. I noticed the plants were struggling, so I checked the water. It was turned off. They had not been getting water. These plants are stunted and not growing as well. Last week, again, the same thing happened. I'm not sure how it keeps getting turned off, but I'm not sure if these plants will ever quite catch up and recover. So, if things aren't growing quite right, the first thing to check is your watering. But be careful. Just because a plant is wilting doesn't mean it needs water. In the afternoon heat, squash leaves may droop because of transpiration. They're losing water faster than the roots can supply it. Check the soil. If it sticks to your fingers, don't water. The plant should recover once the sun goes down. Squash makes two types of flowers, male and female. It takes both to make a fruit. At the beginning of the season, usually it's lots of males that show up. But eventually, you'll start getting both. It's important to have both at the same time. Here's how to tell them apart. Female flowers are on a bulbous stem that look like whatever type of squash they're going to develop into. Male flowers are on a long, thin stem. That's another reason to grow multiple plants, so your chances of having both at the same time, especially at the beginning of the season, go up. The flowers open first thing in the morning. And generally, bees will take the pollen and transfer it from the male to the female flower. But sometimes we need to help out. If you find that fruits are withering and not developing into fruit, it's probably a pollination issue. You need to be the bee and transfer the pollen from the male to the female. I have a female flower on this plant that needs pollinated, but there are no male flowers. So I see a male flower over here. I'm going to transfer some pollen from this plant to that one. The pollen on the brush, just gently put it right there. It just takes one time and now this fruit will develop. Here's the rule. Check your squash plants every day. They can go from the perfect size to harvest to huge overnight. When you harvest young, the flavor is better. The seeds are smaller. Harvest often and you're also encouraging this plant to produce more fruit. This one's getting a little big. The seeds are going to be big and the flavor is so much better when they're young and tender. When squash is at peak production, it can be prolific. Find out which of your neighbors like squash and also preserve it so you can have that flavor all year. I like to grate and freeze it and also freeze dry so we can use squash whenever we want. And that one thing I always do, check my squash leaves every day. That's where problems like squash bugs and powdery mildew will show up first. It doesn't take long. Flip over those leaves. Look for squash bug eggs. It's much easier to handle a couple of eggs or a couple of squash bugs than whole generations on your plants. Same with powdery mildew. If you catch it when it's first on a couple of leaves, it's easy to get rid of those leaves, spray the rest of your plant, and keep it from spreading. If you let it go too long, you'll lose your plant. That daily check takes less than a minute, and it's made the biggest difference in my squash success. Summer squash is fast, fun, and generous. Give it what it needs and keep an eye on those flowers. Thank you so much for watching. What was I talking about? What is the thing? I think this is better off camera. Easy to mess up with watering. Oh, watering is the first thing to check. Okay, should I just keep talking?