We can not get enough of squash in our house. But always going to the grocery store or farmer’s market was getting to be a bit of a burden. So we decided to try our hand at growing yellow squash on our own.
Seriously, yellow squash is great. It’s a wonderfully delicious garden fruit. It’s one of the easiest plants to grow for beginner gardeners; way easier than growing green beans. It is one of our top choices for types of summer squash everyone should grow. And, you can freeze yellow squash after harvesting and it will keep for a long time.
Convinced yet? We hope so. Here is how to get started.
Growing Yellow Squash Is Easy
Obviously, there is a level of difficulty when it comes to gardening. It isn’t exactly a relaxing hobby. In fact, we rank it up there as a great way to get in a good outdoor workout.
So, as far as gardening goes, yellow squash is as close to set it and forget it as you can get. Basically, once you plant it, you really only need to make sure it has sunlight, water, and you protect it from pests.
How to grow yellow squash
Like growing zucchini, yellow squash is a summer squash. The major difference between summer and winter squash is the thickness of their skins. Yellow Squash has a very thin and fragile skin versus the hard almost shells of winter squash.
You will need to find a place to get your seeds. Pretty much every farm store will have them, maybe even you local grocery store. If you want something a little more specialized, you can also order online or maybe even find some heirloom seeds at a farmer’s market.
We prefer to not use pesticides so we opt for ordering organic seeds online. Wherever you get your seeds is up to you.
How to plant zucchini
Most seed packets will have planting and care instructions on the back of the pack. The only times we have not seen them is if we gave gotten them locally from a local farmer. Most of the time, you will have instructions.
If you don’t, this is a great reference guide for you to bookmark and come back to whenever you need to.
We like to start our plants inside when we can and transplant started plants later. That way we can get a jump on the season and extend our harvest a little bit longer.
All you need to do this is some organic potting soil and starting trays. It is recommended that you start your plants inside about 3-4 weeks prior to your zone’s last frost of the winter.
That date will vary depending on which gardening zone you are in. Make sure you check that out so you can make a specific gardening plan.
If starting your seeds inside is not your thing, you can also sow them directly into the soil. You will want to make sure your soil temperature is somewhere between 70 and 95 degrees.
Much like zucchini, yellow squash LOOOVE sunlight. You do not need to worry about them having shade. Just make sure you give them water.
What is the best way to grow yellow squash?
When we garden, we like to use square foot gardening. It’s a great space saver and makes calculating plant distance really easy. Instead of gardening in rows, you make individual planting boxes. We make ours about 3-4 ft x 3-4 ft. Then you divide those boxes into a 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 grid. Each grid box should be 1 square foot.
The recommendations for yellow squash say to space your plants 12 – 18 inches apart. So, with square foot gardening, that would put one plant in the center of each box.
When we planted, we would put two of our started plants in each grid box. The reason for doing this is we could determine after a week or two, which plants would be healthiest. After that time, you pull the plants up that you do not think will do well and only leave the best plants.
If you do not start your plants inside and you plant directly, you can follow the same plant multiples and cull what is not needed method. Place a few seeds in each grid and press them gently into the soil. You should only need to go down about 1/2 – 1 inch. This is roughly the length up to your first knuckle past your fingernail.
Once your seeds are in the ground, water them and wait. Germination takes around 6 -10 days. After that you will see the exciting little plant buds sprouting out of the ground.
Can Yellow Squash and Zucchini be planted together?
Both plants can be planted together. It really just depends on how much fruit you want and how much space you have. Again like zucchini, yellow squash will grow to a height of around 1 foot. But they will also grow out.
One yellow squash plant can produce up to 25 pounds of squash in a single season. Just keep that in mind when you are deciding how many plants to plant.
How long does it take for yellow squash to grow after flowering?
You will notice your plants will start flowering before they start to bear fruit. That is normal. Generally, once you start seeing flowers, you will have yellow squash within 3 – 5 days.
Your plants will reach maturity between 42 and 56 days, or about a month and a half to 2 months. Yellow Squash is actually one of the fastest growing vegetables we grow. Once you start seeing fruit, you will want to harvest it when it is in the 4 – 7 inch range. Anything bigger than that start to suffer in flavor.
Yellow squash was a super rewarding gardening experience. We absolutely recommend you giving it a try this season. Let us know how it goes in the comments below.
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