Lessons From The Garden - Part 3
Winter Squash Prefer Not To Be Trellised
The above picture is amazing isn't it? All those beautiful, multicolored gourds, seemingly floating there in an Alice in Wonderland like tunnel. Yeah...Pinterest sucked me in on this one
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| My version. Nailed it! |
The key word here is "gourds". Gourds produce well when trellised. They are smaller and more prolific than winter squash and come out cleaner and more uniform in shape when allowed to grow off the ground
Winter squash are different though. They can be trellised, if ample care and food are provided, but they seem to do better if allowed to grow freely along the ground
Winter squash will send down feeder roots from where the vines touch the soil, enabling them to take up extra nutrients. This is important, especially for larger squash, because they need that extra food to fully mature. When they are trellised their only source of nutrition comes from the main root system
The lesson I've learned is, while it's nice to not have vines trailing everywhere, the ultimate goal is to have lots of big, healthy squash to eat all winter. Next year I will allow them to sprawl where they will (and just watch where I step)
Actually I've seen a gourd tunnel that actually does look as good as this, better in fact because it was edible, it was in the Loire at the Chateau de Valmer and they grow bottle gourds and other types which you can either make into drinking vessels and/or eat http://a137.idata.over-blog.com/375x500/3/66/01/72/jardin/jardin-Valmer/100_2065.JPG I hope you can pick that up but actually the reality was much better! You are right though that squash need a lot of water and nutrient and do better if they can keep a toe (or rather several toes on the ground). I have had a butternut squash go 'feral' in my greenhouse this year and it has climbed up right into the passion flower but the humidity in there is so high it probably is absorbing enough moisture from the air. Have a great harvest and all the very best from la Baie de Mont Saint Michel, Sue
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Sue. My local fair had a beautiful gourd tunnel as well, and gourds are definately edible in the immature stage, but I don't grow many as I prefer summer squash for eating. I mostly grow larger varieties of winter squash (averaging 10-20 pounds) so they definitely need tons of nutrients and water. I hope you had a successful garden this year and wish you a stunningly productive 2018 season!
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