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Posted on 8:31 AM by Wanto and filed under
By Halden Thompson
Summer squash needs full sun; winter squash does best in full sun but will tolerate light shade. Both grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. To prepare a hill for squash, dig a hole about 18 inches wide and equally deep.
All are grown in clumps on mounds, or hills, of soil. Summer squashes have whitish or yellow flesh, and are picked in summer while immature.
Sow squash outdoors when night temperatures no longer fall below 55. Set six to eight seeds 1 inch deep, evenly spaced on each hill. When plants become 3 inches tall, cut off all but the two strongest.
When the plants begin to crawl along the ground, scatter 1/3 cup of 5-10-5 fertilizer around each one; mulch with 6 inches of straw or old hay.
Blue Hubbard has pear-shaped blue-green fruit 15 to inches long and weighing 25 to 30 pounds. True Hubbard has pear-shaped green fruit, 12 inches long and 10 inches across, weighing about 12 pounds. Buttercup has dark green fruit with silver stripes; each fruit is 41/2 inches high and 61/2 inches across and weighs 4 to 5 pounds. Waltham Butternut has creamy tan fruit, 9 inches long and 3 inches across, that weighs 3 to 4 pounds. A splendid bush type is Gold Nugget, bright orange, 3 inches high and 4 to 5 inches across, and weighing about 2 pounds. A semibush type is Bush Ebony, acorn-shaped dark green fruit 5 inches long, weighing 1 to 11/2 pounds.
Handle the potatoes like eggs-the skins are tender and bruise easily, and any damage may cause decay in storage. Let the sweet potatoes dry for two or three hours, then spread them out in baskets lined with newspaper and put them in a dry place where the temperature will remain about 80 for 10 days to two weeks. Gradually reduce the temperature to 50 to 55 by ventilating the curing area, but continue to keep it dry. Sweet potatoes keep about 10 weeks.
All are grown in clumps on mounds, or hills, of soil. Summer squashes have whitish or yellow flesh, and are picked in summer while immature.
Sow squash outdoors when night temperatures no longer fall below 55. Set six to eight seeds 1 inch deep, evenly spaced on each hill. When plants become 3 inches tall, cut off all but the two strongest.
When the plants begin to crawl along the ground, scatter 1/3 cup of 5-10-5 fertilizer around each one; mulch with 6 inches of straw or old hay.
Blue Hubbard has pear-shaped blue-green fruit 15 to inches long and weighing 25 to 30 pounds. True Hubbard has pear-shaped green fruit, 12 inches long and 10 inches across, weighing about 12 pounds. Buttercup has dark green fruit with silver stripes; each fruit is 41/2 inches high and 61/2 inches across and weighs 4 to 5 pounds. Waltham Butternut has creamy tan fruit, 9 inches long and 3 inches across, that weighs 3 to 4 pounds. A splendid bush type is Gold Nugget, bright orange, 3 inches high and 4 to 5 inches across, and weighing about 2 pounds. A semibush type is Bush Ebony, acorn-shaped dark green fruit 5 inches long, weighing 1 to 11/2 pounds.
Handle the potatoes like eggs-the skins are tender and bruise easily, and any damage may cause decay in storage. Let the sweet potatoes dry for two or three hours, then spread them out in baskets lined with newspaper and put them in a dry place where the temperature will remain about 80 for 10 days to two weeks. Gradually reduce the temperature to 50 to 55 by ventilating the curing area, but continue to keep it dry. Sweet potatoes keep about 10 weeks.
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One tip on gardening is to minimize the danger of fungus diseases in the vegetable garden, water in the morning or early afternoon so that wet foliage has a chance to dry out by nightfall.
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