Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners! Hard to imagine Independence Day was last weekend. We experienced the hottest weather of the summer and now are receiving plenty of rain here in the valley. Compared to the historic drought of 2024 and the extremely dry fall of 2025, I am not complaining about the rain.

Now is a great time to plant a crop of summer squash. Summer squash is the edible young fruit of Cucurbita pepo, a highly diverse, easy-to-grow and short-season group of vegetables. It is a great vegetable for backyard gardeners here in the valley.

There are many great choices to select from such as yellow crookneck, straight neck and scalloped. My favorite has always been zucchini. Growing up, we would pick it fresh from the garden and my mother would pan fry it and add it to pasta for supper (of course with plenty of butter).

The word squash comes from the Massachusetts Indian word askutasquash, meaning “eaten raw or uncooked.” Summer squash is a member of the cucurbit family (which also contains cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelons, muskmelons and ornamental gourds).

Summer squash originated in the New World, and Native American gardens offered a number of varieties. The northeastern tribes grew pumpkins, yellow crooknecks, pattypans, Boston marrows (the oldest squash in America still in commercial production) and turban squash. Tribes from the south raised winter crooknecks, cushaws and green and white striped sweet potato squash.

There are four groups of summer squash including straightneck, crookneck, scalloped and zucchini. Straightneck squash are yellow and have a cylinder or bottle-shaped fruit with a straight neck, while crookneck is typically yellow, elongated fruit with a narrow, long, curved neck.

Scalloped squash is white, green or striped with a flattened fruit with scalloped or ridged edges. Finally, zucchini and cocozelle (a classic, Italian heirloom bush zucchini) are usually green or yellow cylindrical fruit, referred to as vegetable marrows. The zucchini is uniformly cylindrical and green.

The main difference between summer and winter squash is summer squash is eaten when it is immature, and the rind is tender. There are many improved varieties of each of these types of summer squash as well as some standard varieties which still produce well for home gardeners. Contact me at the Extension Office for recommendations.

Summer squash is easy to grow and has many health benefits. They contain high amounts of the important antioxidants Vitamin A and C and are low in calories. These nutrients aid in protecting the body from heart disease and stroke. Summer squash also contains a good amount of fiber to promote colon health. They can be used in salads, steamed, grilled, baked, and my favorite – added to stir fry.

I know many of us peel off the edible outer rind or skin on squash, but the outer skin is where the good stuff is (it contains a high concentration of beta-carotene). Squash can be blanched and frozen, but canning is not recommended (due to a higher pH) unless pickled.

Squash plants need warm soil and are very sensitive to frost, so don’t be in a rush to plant early in spring. Wait until the soil has warmed to about 70°F, or well after the danger of frost has passed. The neat thing about many of our squash is they are easy to grow and require a relatively short season to produce a crop from the family garden. Most varieties require 40 to 50 days from sowing to maturity.

I recommend direct seeding squash in the garden, but many gardeners and commercial growers start seeds in trays and transplant to get a head start and to enhance earliness and uniformity of plant stands. Be careful when transplanting squash and most other members of the cucumber family as roots of young plants are easily damaged.

Summer squash loves well-drained soils with high levels of organic matter and a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. To avoid potential soil-borne diseases and nematode problems, do not plant summer squash where you have grown vegetables in the cucumber family in the past two to three years.

In general, plant summer squash ¾ to 1½ inches deep with plants spaced 18 to 24 inches apart. Make your row at least 3 feet apart. To improve stands, plant two or three seeds per hill and thin to a single plant, leaving the healthiest seedling.

Timely and appropriate applications of fertilizer will make a big difference in fruit quality and yield. To eliminate guesswork in your fertility program, take a soil test. Contact the WVU Extension Office for assistance in taking a soil test and interpreting the results.

Keep in mind squash plants are shallow-rooted and require plenty of soil moisture throughout the growing season. Fertilize plants by broadcasting two pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of garden (about two tablespoons per plant) and working it into the soil.

Plants in the cucumber family (cucurbit) such as summer squash are highly dependent on bees for pollination. Pollen on plants in the cucurbit family are not effectively moved by wind, so the pollen borne on male flowers must be transferred to female flowers by pollinators. These may be domesticated honeybees or natural pollinators including bumblebees, squash bees and solitary bees such as carpenter bees.

Good pollination will increase yield and improve fruit quality. It is interesting to note that the larger native bees pollinate squash more efficiently than honeybees due to the large size of squash flowers and pollen.

Summer squash has both male and female flowers, but only the female flowers produce fruits. Cucurbit flowers are open for only one day, and squash are usually open only in the morning. Therefore, weather may affect summer squash pollination because bees are less likely to forage for nectar and pollen during bad weather.

In addition, squash blooms are not as attractive to bees if there are other competing blooms in the area. Many commercial farms supply honeybee hives to improve pollination, some as many as three hives per acre of squash or other cucurbit plants.

Two bugs to watch out for are the squash bug and vine borer. Squash bugs can be a problem on older plants and cause considerable damage to foliage. These insects are easy to control when in the nymph stage but become stubborn to eradicate as adults.

Squash vine borers are clear-winged moths that lay eggs near the base of squash plants. Plants wilt and die about the time they start producing. Some will have a yellowish or greenish sawdust like material all over the vines.

Keep a close eye on summer squash after pollination. They develop very rapidly (especially in hot weather) and may be ready to pick within four to eight days after flowering. Believe me, they can become large and over mature and should be harvested when they are small and tender for best eating quality.

Ideally, summer squash should be harvested at 6-8 inches in length. Pattypan and scallopini are ready when they measure about 3-4 inches in diameter or less. Over-mature fruit may be hollowed out and used for stuffing and grated for baking in breads and other items.

Summer squash bruise and scratch easily, so handle with care and use immediately after picking. Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to harvest, and wear gloves if possible. The leafstalks and stems are prickly and can scratch and irritate unprotected hands and arms.

Most summer squash are very perishable, so use it up quickly or put it in the freezer. Enjoy! Contact me at the Wood County WVU Extension Office (304)-424-1960 or e-mail me at jj.barrett@mail.wvu.edu with questions. Good Luck and until next time, Happy Gardening!