Never grown squash before

Hi everyone Im over here in England and its 24c hooray  and its overcast and spitting with rain :affraid:However,I've been pottering around my garden. I have just seen my squash plant has grown 2 super looking leaves. Its in a small pot. I know nothing about growing squash. Please help.

I can't help, but I can join in your excitement - I'm growing squash for the first time too!

Woo hoo, that IS exciting!!

We are growing squash for the first time, too.  Wish we were having better luck, though.  Since transplanting into the bed they have been growing verrrryyy slowly .  And the outter leaves have begun to yellow...

Am wondering if too much nitrogen in the soil?  All other plants have been going BONKERS so am not really sure what to do?  Maybe it's just been too cold here?

Anyway, YAY for new leaves!!

Perhaps as were all new to this . A kind person on here might do us a favour and post a tutorial to help us all along. Perhaps with pictures if we all ask nicely.
Please  Pretty please, with a cherry on the top

Well, I know nothing about doing videos or tutorials, but, I'll see if I can help.What kind of squash? Vine or bush? Bush does not really describe most squash for they 'travel' if they don't climb.
Squash need a large pot or in the ground. They usually have very large leaves, and they like it fairly hot. If not growing the weather may be too damp and cool. If it quits raining, and the sun comes out, look out for they will quickly grow huge. After fruit is on, then they would like a drink to grow their fruit.
Zucchini 'maybe' can be grown up a post, guide it up post and tie loosely. This will have to be done daily for they grow very fast. Lots of folks let zucchini grow over edge of box, in to the isle, to save room in the box(I do this)
Vines an be grown up a trellis.

If lots of leaves and no blossoms, very green, then the nitrogen may be high, plant some lettuce at it's base and the lettuce will use up the excess nitrogen. If leaves are yellowing, well, it could be lots of stuff.
Bugs, disease, or needing a mild fertilizer. A mild organic, maybe Ensoma Garden. Just a little bit, or some good compost, worm tea, or compost tea. Bugs or disease, well that takes a whole other thread.
I will go out between rain downpours and try to get some pics.
Jo

Hi Sarah465 - we're in the same town! What type of squash are you growing? I bought Spaghetti squash transplants from Shorty's. Since squash plants are typically planted 3-5 per hill (with hills being like 5 ft apart) instead of one every two squares in an SFG, all the transplants were grown with 3 or 4 plants in each little pot. I wasn't sure what to do, but economy won out and I bought one pot and separated the plants and hoped for the best. There weren't many roots left by the time I got them apart, but the one I have still growing (my 2 year old destroyed the others) has proven today that it has survived being transplanted and is ready to grow. It has a flush of new leaves coming out!


Frenchbean, I think you need to be more specific regarding what you need help with? You said it's in a little pot - do you need to know where to plant it? How much space it needs?

Hiya Gwennifer!  Hope you've been staying dry through our rain showers today

We are growing two types of winter squash:



Marina di Chioggia



and Golden Delicious

The idea is to train them up this chicken wire trellis (fingers crossed they grow that much AND the wire can hold them).



As I said, since transplanting the growth rate has slowed down considerably.  Only two or three new leaves in about two weeks :-/

littlejo wrote:What kind of squash? Vine or bush? Bush does not really describe most squash for they 'travel' if they don't climb.

Oh, dear - I'm not sure We have Marina di Chioggia and Golden Delicious. It doesn't say on the packet which type they are...I guess I should find out! We were planning on training them up a trellis, but that wouldn't work if they don't climb I bet!

Sarah, Marina di Chioggia is an Italian heirloom with a pebbled surface. A delicious winter squash, though I can't tell you how long it stores, because we ate it up early in the winter. It has a somewhat dry flesh, and makes a delicious batch of gnocchi. Also makes a delicious "pumpkin" pie. It's a somewhat large squash, so plan on more than one recipe to use with your mature squash: batch of pumpkin soup, a pie or two, but save some to use for making gnocchi (lots of recipes online). Using up a large Chioggia was my first attempt at gnocchi--delicious. Bon appetite! Nonna

I've been out and got a few pics.
Yellow squash--traveling from left to right.


Same plant-big leaves

Zucchini-over edge of box-2 plants,  needs weeding




below is acorn squash

I only have what they call bush type, which travels. You might be able to tie to the trellis. Bush type does not have tendrils to attach itself to trellis
Jo

Thanks for the lovely pictures. Firstly I have 2 courgettes (Blackbeauty) in my TT. We've just had a downpour  and its grown quite a lot in a short time. I didn't put them at the end of my tabletop  Kinda in the middle oops!. Thats a lesson learned for next year. From what I've been reading I need to cage them? to encourage them to grow vertically :scratch:

My daughter has grown a squash plant, butternut squash. At the moment it is a little tray. It has 3 leaves. Im not sure if to put it in a larger pot or plant it out.:scratch:  I think I might pot it up into a bigger pot. As I have foxes and cats in my garden. I have taken a picture and will try to upload it. But don't hold your breath as this forum doesn't like accepting my pots

I am new to growing squash too.  I planted seeds in early May, and had to add some nitrogen to the soil because they stopped growing.  My zuchinni plant exploded and is like a bush.  I have had one blossom on one squash that then died away, and I have had two blooms on a dif yellow squash plant...one showed up and was gone before I knew it, the other is still there...but I don't see any actual squash or zuchinni...the zuchinni "bush" has little buds though.  When should I start seeing some veggies?  Do I need to do anything different?

ahbishop wrote:I am new to growing squash too.  I planted seeds in early May, and had to add some nitrogen to the soil because they stopped growing.  My zuchinni plant exploded and is like a bush.  I have had one blossom on one squash that then died away, and I have had two blooms on a dif yellow squash plant...one showed up and was gone before I knew it, the other is still there...but I don't see any actual squash or zuchinni...the zuchinni "bush" has little buds though.  When should I start seeing some veggies?  Do I need to do anything different?

ahbishop,
The first flowers were prob male. The female flowers will have a mini fruit just behind the flower. If the flower with the fruit drops off, then it was not pollenated. If it gets pollenated, by you or bee, then a fruit will grow.
If the plant just grows, with no flowers at all, then there is to much nitrogen, plant some lettuce at base of plant to use up the nitrogen.
Jo

Thanks littlejo.  The huge plant was getting that way before I added nitrogen, and there is some lettuce not far away...I will keep an eye on it for a couple of more days - i have some lettuce seeds on standby though  that's a great idea. Plus, I can't have enough lettuce.  I love salads

Don't let the male blossoms go to waste, though. Clip them off early in the morning and store on a paper towel in a plastic bag in refrigerator until dinner time. Then, reach into the blossom and pull out the stamen. Stuff in some cheese and seasonings, twist the flower closed. Roll each blossom in seasoned flour, then in beaten egg wash, then again in flour (and/or bread crumbs), then fry in hot oil until golden and cooked through. Eat and enjoy. As to the cheese, we really like a jalapeno jack cheese. If you leave the stem on the blossoms, you can freak out the kids by calling them "fried mice" for dinner. Nonna who can't wait for the first, usually male, blossoms on the squash plants. Yummmmmm!

This is my first time growing squash as well.  I have little fruits and many unopened flowers at this point.  However, some of the first leaves are yellowing.  Is this a cause for concern?

herblover,
Don't panic. The first leaves may yellow and fall off, they have done all they can. The plant will put on more leaves as it vines or travels.
Jo