Description

This All-America Selections award winner is still a favorite and for good reason! Thick, firm, fine-grained delicious squash is ready to harvest in just 45 days! Versatile summer squash can be eaten raw, pickled, or cooked in innumerable ways, including in sweet breads. Best picked at 4″–7″, or smaller for “baby” size. If left on the vine, it may grow so big that it would take two people to carry it!

Botanical Name: Cucurbita pepo
Days to Maturity: 45 days
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Native: North America
Hardiness: Frost-sensitive annual
Plant Dimensions: Vines up to 2' form a 3'–4' bush-type plant.
Variety Information: Pick when 4″–7″ long. Fruit is lemon yellow, club-shaped.
Type: Bush
Attributes: Good for Containers

When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks after your average last frost date, and when soil temperature is 70°–85°F.
When to Start Inside: Not recommended except in very short growing seasons, 2 to 4 weeks before transplanting. Roots are sensitive to disturbance; sow in biodegradable pots that can be planted directly into the ground. Transplant when soil temperature is at least 60°F.
Days to Emerge: 5–10 days
Seed Depth: ½”–1″
Seed Spacing: 2–3 seeds per mound
Row Spacing: 3'–4'
Thinning: When 3 leaves, thin to 1 plant per mound

Harvesting: Harvest frequently to increase yield; squash seem to get monstrous overnight. While edible at almost any size, seeds are less developed in young fruit, therefore more tender. Using a knife or clippers, cut squash off including some of the stem. By including stem, the fruit is sealed and less likely to mold or dry out. Harvesting Blossoms: Look for male, non-fruit producing flowers that have long stems and harvest just before use (female flowers have a swollen mini-squash at the base of the flower and are on shorter stems).

This packet sows up to 6 mounds. 18 seeds.