Greenhouse Squash Suggestions

whoose · December 27, 2015

I have not had success with squash (zucchini or summer) in my greenhouse, I am wanting to try the following because of their lack of a need for pollination (Bee etc).

Golden Glory (summer)
Dunja
Partenon
Safari
and Diva
All zucchini

Please rank order or give personnel comments.

I do not want to grow outside because of the short season and insects.

KarenO · December 27, 2015

here in Northern Alberta I grow more zucchini that I could possibly use outside in my open garden. I don't think it would do well in a greenhouse due to it susceptibility to fungus, powdery mildew especially.

Start it in your GH to give it a head start about 4-6 weeks and then carefully transplant the seedlings without disturbing the roots about the first week of June into a full sun in a warm hill of soil. mulch to prevent splash up of soil when it rains, shield from strong wind until growing well, fertilize with a cup of slow release granular over and around the hill, keep them watered but don't wet the foliage and you will be giving zucchini to your neighbors and anyone else who will take it. They key in a more northerly garden as far as I'm concerned is to give them a head start and transplant carefully into warm soil. They can also be direct sown but you will get earlier fruit for a longer period if you sow inside first. Remember, they are called summer squash for a reason, they only produce in the summer, June to August in a good year.
For me, The plants get too large for a greenhouse unless yours is really big and also you need insects to pollinate squash in order to get fruits.
For varieties, I like black beauty, eight ball and golden queen but I think any Hybrid and most old fashioned ones will produce well outdoors in my area.

KarenO

salix · December 27, 2015

Exactly what Karen said!

Worth1 · December 27, 2015

So do you grow winter squash in the winter.

Worth

KarenO · December 28, 2015

smarty Mr Worth. Actually, most of the best winter squash doesn't grow well here due the longer season they require. Some of the earlier ones do OK such as spaghetti squash but I can grow zucchini like nobody's business in my garden.
I sow 3 seeds in a six inch pot the end of April and transplant them as a group into one hill. Last year I kept them guessing at the community garden by planting one each of a black, a stripe and a yellow in the same pot. The garden neighbors thought it was a magic plant with 3 different colours growing on it because the three plants growing together look like one giant plant.
Patty pan squash is good too. try the three colour trick with that too. Honestly, just from that one "mound" of zucchini I can't keep up to it all in my garden.
here I like to say you know you don't have any friends with a garden if you have to buy zucchini in the summer. National leave zucchini on your neighbors porch day is a thing.

Salix is even more North than me Whoose ,and if we can grow it outside well here, you can too I'm quite sure.

KarenO

BigVanVader · November 21, 2016

Bumping this thread, I need parthenocarpic squash because SVB are nearly impossible to control organically. I want to use row cover/hoops but would prefer not to need to hand pollinate. I was going to try Golden Glory and Perfect Pick so if anyone has grown it please chime in.

brownrexx · November 21, 2016

Yes, SVB are impossible to control organically. What I do is succession planting and I get plenty of squash.

I plant zucchini outdoors and when they start flowering , I plant a couple more seeds, then in a few weeks I plant a couple more seeds. I absolutely KNOW that they will get infected but it takes several weeks after infection for the plant to die so I get squash before the plant succumbs but by then I have another couple of younger plants already growing so they give me squash after the first plants die.

I tried growing Perfect Pick outdoors with row covers one year but the plants got really big and I guess that the SVB moth found gaps in the covering and laid her eggs because the plants got infected and died. The squash that I did get were OK though.

BigVanVader · November 21, 2016

Yeah, I harvested hundreds of pounds of squash last year before they took down my plants. I guess I will just have to rotate, succession plant, and cover until bloom. I tried everything last year and nothing seemed to matter.

December 27, 2015	#1
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	Greenhouse Squash Suggestions I have not had success with squash (zucchini or summer) in my greenhouse, I am wanting to try the following because of their lack of a need for pollination (Bee etc). Golden Glory (summer) Dunja Partenon Safari and Diva All zucchini Please rank order or give personnel comments. I do not want to grow outside because of the short season and insects.

December 27, 2015	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	here in Northern Alberta I grow more zucchini that I could possibly use outside in my open garden. I don't think it would do well in a greenhouse due to it susceptibility to fungus, powdery mildew especially. Start it in your GH to give it a head start about 4-6 weeks and then carefully transplant the seedlings without disturbing the roots about the first week of June into a full sun in a warm hill of soil. mulch to prevent splash up of soil when it rains, shield from strong wind until growing well, fertilize with a cup of slow release granular over and around the hill, keep them watered but don't wet the foliage and you will be giving zucchini to your neighbors and anyone else who will take it. They key in a more northerly garden as far as I'm concerned is to give them a head start and transplant carefully into warm soil. They can also be direct sown but you will get earlier fruit for a longer period if you sow inside first. Remember, they are called summer squash for a reason, they only produce in the summer, June to August in a good year. For me, The plants get too large for a greenhouse unless yours is really big and also you need insects to pollinate squash in order to get fruits. For varieties, I like black beauty, eight ball and golden queen but I think any Hybrid and most old fashioned ones will produce well outdoors in my area. KarenO Last edited by KarenO; December 27, 2015 at 05:02 PM.

December 27, 2015	#3
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Exactly what Karen said! __________________ "He who has a library and a garden wants for nothing." -Cicero

December 27, 2015	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	So do you grow winter squash in the winter. Worth

December 28, 2015	#5
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	smarty Mr Worth. Actually, most of the best winter squash doesn't grow well here due the longer season they require. Some of the earlier ones do OK such as spaghetti squash but I can grow zucchini like nobody's business in my garden. I sow 3 seeds in a six inch pot the end of April and transplant them as a group into one hill. Last year I kept them guessing at the community garden by planting one each of a black, a stripe and a yellow in the same pot. The garden neighbors thought it was a magic plant with 3 different colours growing on it because the three plants growing together look like one giant plant. Patty pan squash is good too. try the three colour trick with that too. Honestly, just from that one "mound" of zucchini I can't keep up to it all in my garden. here I like to say you know you don't have any friends with a garden if you have to buy zucchini in the summer. National leave zucchini on your neighbors porch day is a thing. Salix is even more North than me Whoose ,and if we can grow it outside well here, you can too I'm quite sure. KarenO

November 21, 2016	#6
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Bumping this thread, I need parthenocarpic squash because SVB are nearly impossible to control organically. I want to use row cover/hoops but would prefer not to need to hand pollinate. I was going to try Golden Glory and Perfect Pick so if anyone has grown it please chime in.

November 21, 2016	#7
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	Yes, SVB are impossible to control organically. What I do is succession planting and I get plenty of squash. I plant zucchini outdoors and when they start flowering , I plant a couple more seeds, then in a few weeks I plant a couple more seeds. I absolutely KNOW that they will get infected but it takes several weeks after infection for the plant to die so I get squash before the plant succumbs but by then I have another couple of younger plants already growing so they give me squash after the first plants die. I tried growing Perfect Pick outdoors with row covers one year but the plants got really big and I guess that the SVB moth found gaps in the covering and laid her eggs because the plants got infected and died. The squash that I did get were OK though.