Growing Information for your Squash

Put your newspaper pot in a warm and well-lit area, either outside or on a windowsill. Water the pot often, though it is best to let the soil dry a bit in between watering. When the seed sprouts, it will have two oval leaves – each starting seed looking exactly the same when it emerges from the soil. The third leaf will be your first clue towards what kind of squash plant you have as it will look different from the others.

Let the seed start grow to 3-4 inches high before planting in a pot or in the ground. You can plant the newspaper pot and seed together – the newspaper will biodegrade. Or, you can tear away the pot, massage the plant’s roots, and put it in the ground that way.

Squash plants all take between 50 – 100 days to mature and bear fruit. They will either be viners or bush plants. Some of the vining varieties like to sprawl and can extend up to 15 feet! Bush squash, often zucchini and summer squash varieties, grow between 3 -5 feet in diameter.

To grow squash at home, you can grow them in pots, in rows or in hills. If you are growing in a pot, make sure it has a very large diameter. When planting in mounds or rows, leave at least 2 feet apart for vining plants, and four feet between bushing plants.

Whether planting in pots or in the ground, these plants like aerated, sandy soil. It is helpful to add compost to the dirt to keep it light and keep the plant happy. Water it often, place it in an area that gets a lot of sun, and enjoy watching it grow!