How To Plant, Grow, Harvest, And Cure Winter Squash

Ready to grow something that’ll stick around long after summer fades? Winter squash is your garden’s gift that keeps on giving—from velvety butternut to hearty acorn and cheerful spaghetti squash. These sprawling plants may take their sweet time, but they’ll reward your patience with gorgeous gourds and long-lasting flavor. This guide will walk you through every step of planting, growing, harvesting, and curing winter squash like a seasoned pro. Let’s squash it! 🎃🌱

About Winter Squash

Because winter squash requires a long growing season (generally from 75 to 100 frost-free days), the seeds are generally planted by late May in northern locations to early July in extremely southern states. See your local frost dates and length of growing season.

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Winter squash are harvested in late summer or autumn, just before or after their fruits reach full maturity. Squash has a relatively long shelf life. Some varieties will keep through winter, hence the name winter squash. Varieties include acorn, butternut, delicata, Hubbard, pumpkin, and spaghetti.

Squashes and pumpkins are among the most thrilling vegetables you can grow. One minute, the seedlings are tentatively pushing through, and then, just a few weeks later, they’re great sprawling monsters with masses of leafy growth and plenty of fruits. I love the fact they’re so easy to grow, too—as long as you can keep up with their insatiable appetite, that is!

Despite the great diversity of squash, most commonly grown, cultivated varieties belong to one of three species:

1. Cucurbita pepo
2. C. moschata
3. C. maxima

Over several generations, these plants have been cultivated to produce fruit in all kinds of shapes, colors, and flavors.

The Three Sisters

Squash is one of the three plants grown in the traditional Native American style called the Three Sisters, along with beans and corn. When grown together, the squash serves as a ground cover to prevent weeds from growing, beans provide natural fertilizer for all three plants, and corn provides a support system for the beans. Learn more about the Three Sisters.