Spaghetti Squash

I planted spaghetti squash seeds on Friday and they sprouted today! Does anyone have experience growing spaghetti squash in a SFG?

I do, they grow great, if you can keep the squash bugs off of them.

I do! I do! I planted mine from seed on April 21 and I have a spaghetti squash about the size of my fist. That is all the experience I have with it. It has done very well on its own up until the end of last week when I noticed all of my zucchini and yellow squash and one spaghetti squash had been attacked by SBV.

@FarmerValerie wrote:I do, they grow great, if you can keep the squash bugs off of them.

Are they more prone to draw these pests?

@petals1973 wrote: I have a spaghetti squash about the size of my fist.

How big will you allow it to get before you harvest? My pack of seeds says 100 days, but yours is has only been growing about a month and 1/2...

I'm growing small wonder hybrid. It says it is just right for single servings. They measure about 5 1/2 inches by 4 inches and wight about 1.5 to 2 lbs. Under suggestions it says "don't cut winter squash from the vine until firmly ripe (when you have a hard time making a dent in the shell with your thumbnail). Harvest before hard frost."

I'm going to wait until I can't poke my fingernail through it and then harvest it. I can't wait! I keep running out every morning to check on her and to make sure she is OK. LOL

The packet also says it is 70 days until harvest.

Unfortunately ALL squash is prone to the squash bug and squash vine borer, and when they are don with your squash they move on to your tomatoes, peas, and anything else nearby.

I hand pick daily, misting with the hose, so they run to higher ground, and I check for leaves. Since my spaghetti squash will be on trelis (hopefully get that done this weekend, they are getting long-the vines that is) I will trim leaves below fruit for less hiding places for them. I was spraying with 1 1/2 c water, 1/2 c rubbing alchol, and 1-2 Tbsp dish soap to kill them, and it works, but I now feed them to my chickens.

Winter squash stay on the vine a long time, like petals said, until you have a hard time making a dent with your thumbnail, so wait the full 100 days!

I planted the spag squash seeds from supper a while back into an impromtu compost mound and it looks like they all sprouted the other day! Do I need to thin them?

With the zucchini, I planted 3 and kept losing them to SBV and slugs, and replacing them. I've finally ended up with 3 healthy ones ...maybe. *crossing fingers* I'm afraid to thin them to one plant in case they get attacked again. Is 3 OK to keep?

Now I'm afraid to thin the spag squash seedlings. How do you know when it safe to thin squash?

CC

I put a few seeds in about two and a half weeks ago and nothing came of them. So Tuesday I decided to dodge the light rain that was coming down intermittently and plant a few more seeds. Well, what do you think? The original seeds decided to sprout!! I don't have true leaves yet, but they are showing promise with the seed leaves becoming quite large (about 1-1/2" long). I love spaghetti squash even more than pasta. Now if the zucchini would also show their sprouts.

Mabel, will you thin the babe spags?

Here's my squash garden/mounds - the first mound is 3 zucchinis, & the second mound is many spaghetti seedlings:



Here's a close up of the spag babies:


to thin or not to thin, and the question is when?

CC

Last year I found a number of "squash-like" seedlings had sprouted in my compost box, so I transplanted two of the seedlings into the garden. One turned out to be a butternut squash and the other was a spaghetti. Both produced some fruit before getting hit with some sort of mildew.
I saved seeds from the butternut but did not keep track of pollination, so I call them the "mystery squash" plants. I have 3 per mounds growing in two mounds now. Still young so no fruits = no ID. ohhh, imaging a cross between a butternut and a spaghetti squash

CapeCoddess: Then seed co's often say 2 or 3 zucchini per hill but my experience last year was that the plants are very bushy and prickly and it was a not-so-nice chore to get in there and look for the zucs. This year I spaced my plants about 18" apart. You might consider thinning to one or two plants per hill.
The SS will run on a vine so you can get away with a number of them growing from the same mound (I think). I;d bet they would do okay if you tried to split them too, they seem to be pretty determined seedlings. That's my 2 cents.

I only see two sprouts so far, so I will probably just let them go. When I saw them on Tuesday I did not plant more, but I think my original planting was three seeds, so we'll see if a third one shows up.

Jiminy crickets, J...what is that thing in your hand on your avatar???
CC

@CapeCoddess wrote:Jiminy crickets, J...what is that thing in your hand on your avatar???
CC

It's a circada - isn't it great? We were camping on Lake Huron last September and they were everywhere, but the end must have been near for them :boohoo: because they were a little slow - making them easy to collect . I just today remembered about those pictures and promptly updated. My 6-yr-old had quite the collection! My girls might scream at a spider but they're not scare of much else. Our newest joy in life is stomping on earwigs

Question about spag squash - can it be preserved in some way? I mean after you pick it is there some way to keep it for, sy, a month or more?
The cost of spag squash is soooo high, esp in the winter, just can't afford it. So would like to keep it over winter.
Also, if we're doing SFG, why are there so many slugs or SVBs?
A shallow bowl of beer, or a half grapefruit, is supposed to draw the slugs.
Lee

They keep really well in a pile in my living room with the other winter squash. Maybe in a cool room, but not cold. They should last 3-4 months easily if picked with a hard rind and no punctures.

I planted my spaghetti squash on March 13th in a small pot on the windowsill, put it out into the garden around April 15th, which unfortunately meant it got hit with a last cold blast (not normal around here).

Anyway, it's mid-June and it's growing well, nothing large on it yet, but female flowers are starting to grow.

Here is one of the buds just starting



And here is the plant, unfortunately it's not in the SFG, the one I put out in the SFG died as the snails got it.

Here is my monster volunteer spaghetti squash from the mulch pile (at least I think it's a spaghetti squash). It's 2' in diameter and 18" tall.



The blossoms are bigger than my fist.



This monster is supposed to be climbing the post behind it, but I've tied it up in 2 places and it just keeps getting bigger, showing no inclination to climb! 

If it's not climbing, it may not be a spaghetti squash. When it gets a female flower, you will have a better idea of what it might be.

@sanderson wrote:If it's not climbing, it may not be a spaghetti squash.     When it gets a female flower, you will have a better idea of what it might be.

As long as it's something wonderful I'm okay with it. This is hands-down the most enthusiastic plant I've ever grown.  Also, the one I know is spag that I had to transplant is going to survive, so one way or another, it looks like we'll have spaghetti squash this year. 

Beautiful plants! This is very exciting.  Wish I could grow spaghetti squash.  The SVB takes them down every time.
 
CC

@CapeCoddess wrote:Beautiful plants! This is very exciting.  Wish I could grow spaghetti squash.  The SVB takes them down every time.
 
CC

What's SVB? 

AARRGGHH! There's a small chance it's a pumpkin!  I DON'T WANT NO STINKIN' PUMPKIN! 

@countrynaturals wrote:

@CapeCoddess wrote:Beautiful plants! This is very exciting.  Wish I could grow spaghetti squash.  The SVB takes them down every time.
 
CC

What's SVB? 

The dreaded squash vine borer. 
 
I don't think you have them out your way, but I could be wrong.

CC

So far, no SVB out here. Fingers crossed.