For gardeners, squash is both a blessing and a curse. As a blessing, it is one of the most reassuring plants to grow because it is agreeable and vigorous in most situations, and the harvests tend to be huge. On the other hand, the harvests are sometimes so large—just a few zucchini plants provide more than a family can eat—that it becomes overwhelming to find ways to deal with all the fruits.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine a summer garden without zucchini and/or yellow squash padding out the harvests. Nothing says autumn soups and winter roasts quite like butternut squash and pumpkins (also a squash). In other words, there’s no way around it: We’ve got to grow them because we love to eat them.
So, it’s time to learn the ins and outs of growing squash, from acorn to zucchini, and this is just the space to get into it.
Summer Squash vs. Winter Squash
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We can categorize squashes into two categories: summer and winter. Both are delicious and easy to cultivate. Summer squashes are great for eating fresh, and winter squashes are amazing for storing, some of them lasting several months.
Summer squashes grow faster, have bushier plants, and are eaten young before their skins harden. Popular varieties include zucchini, yellow squash, and patty pans. While these varieties can grow large and thick-skinned like winter squashes, they are better to enjoy before this.
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Winter squashes (and pumpkins) grow on long vines that can either spread out over a space or climb up trellises. Winter squashes take a month or longer to grow than summer squashes because the fruit needs to reach full maturity so that the skin hardens. These make great soups, roasted treats, chunky soups, and sweet pies.
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Winter Squash vs. Pumpkins
Winter squashes are often separated into (at least) two subcategories: winter squash and pumpkins. In reality, pumpkins are just distinctive types of winter squash, typically on the spherical side, usually with orange flesh, and normally with smoother skin.
All of these adverbs— typically, usually, and normally— are because none of these rules are steadfast. For example, there are spherical green squashes that get called pumpkins, and there are winter squashes shaped a lot like pumpkins but get called squashes.
Popular winter squashes include acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, Hubbard, and spaghetti. Well-known pumpkin varieties are sugar pie, Jack-o’-Lantern, Atlantic Giant (for “the biggest pumpkin” contests), and Cinderella. Hey, it’…….
Source: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/a-little-guide-to-growing-squash-from-acorn-to-zucchini/