1. Home
  2. Question and Answer
  3. Houseplants
  4. Garden Articles
  5. Most Popular Plants
  6. Plant Nutrition

Squash is a Big Hit in the Greenhouse - Over 500 Pounds of Squash in a Single Season

It started as a modest project to build a raised bed greenhouse for growing squash. You might say it was a necessity because of the dry and wind-swept climate we have here in Wyoming. It turned out to be an excellent investment in time and money, as it has paid us back in its first season with more than 500 pounds of vegetables. Let me tell you about the squash we raised in our homemade greenhouse.

The greenhouse was constructed using power poles, tin, ripstop poly sheeting, and chain link fencing top rail. I constructed a twin raised bed greenhouse that is a strong and able producer of both winter and summer squash. The beds are narrow and long, and covered with fabric mulch, and the whole thing is watered with a drip system.

The vegetables we planted were pitiful little seedlings with two or three leaves. We planted two each of six varieties of summer squash, and two each of six varieties of winter squash. Our summer squash consisted of Butterstick, Starship, Sunburst, Woods Bush Scallop, Gold Rush, and Magda.

Our winter squash consisted of Butternut, Thelma Sanders, Bush Delicata, Sweet Dumpling Delicata, Table Queen and Small Wonder. We put the summer squash on the south bed and the winter squash on the north bed. The winter squash were mostly a vine type of growth, whereas the summer squash were all bush varieties.

The growth of the squash was remarkable, and the care was easy. The tiny seedlings took a little while to get established, and then quickly put out more leaves. We pulled the few weeds that snuck out from under the fabric mulch to keep them from competing with the seedlings.

The summer squash started early with blossoms and setting fruit. Since it was still a bit cool outside, we hand pollinated with small water color paint brushes until the bumble bees took over. Once they took over, it was a haven for bumble bees, and they flew from blossom to blossom all covered in pollen during most of the day.

The squash were watered every couple days with the drip system. Once they reached a larger size and started to grow fruit, we watered each day for an hour or so. After they were in full production, we extended the watering times to make certain they were getting plenty of water to support all the fruit they were producing. They responded well and started to encroach on the walkway, eventually making it hard to walk the length of the center path. It was a jungle on the south side of the "squash house".

The winter squash were allowed to crawl and climb in any direction, and often had to be turned around to keep from piling up at the ends of the bed, or flowing over into the sunken walkway. Trellises were a welcomed feature for the long-vined winter squash. We hand pollinated them as well until the bumble bees took over. Later in the season, we bumped our heads on the fruit that hung down in the center of the walkway. It was a jungle on the north side of the "squash house" as well.

The harvest was a bit more than expected. Every 4 days during the mid-summer harvest, we collected 8 to 12 pounds of fruit, and that harvest continued for at least 2 and 1/2 months. On occasion we let the squash develop for another week, and then we harvested about 45 pounds on a single day. We estimate more than 300 pounds of squash was harvested for canning, freezing, fresh eating, and sharing with our friends and neighbors.

The winter squash had to wait for its "show" at the end of the season. More than 200 pounds lay on the fabric mulch, hung on the trellises, and dangled overhead on the joists of my homemade greenhouse. We are set for squash this winter, and we'll save money on groceries because we won't be buying much produce at all.

If you're interested in an abundance of food from a relatively small space, I suggest you consider your own "squash house". Come see how we were wowed by the miracle of seed, soil, water and sunlight.

Clair Schwan is an expert in frugal living, and has constructed three homemade greenhouses to help kiss goodbye to the high price of groceries. See his greenhouse gardens and other frugal living tips at http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com

Copyright © www.100flowers.win Botanic Garden All Rights Reserved