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cucurbits

Vegetables: The Cucurbits—Squash, Pumpkins, and Gourds

July 17, 2018

Summer squash is my favorite vegetable, and despite the jokes about gardeners inundating their neighbors with unwanted zucchini, it isn’t always easy to get a good crop! Squash, pumpkins, and some gourds are members of the Cucurbita genus that makes up one branch of the Cucurbitaceae family. Which can we grow in our Western North Carolina gardens? 

Squash plant
Squash plant

Understanding the family tree
There are hundreds of cucurbits! Those grown in vegetable gardens belong to just a few species.

  • Cucurbita pepo: This species includes most of our summer squashes—yellow, pattypan, spaghetti squash, zucchini—as well as acorn and delicata winter squash, miniature and “Jack-o-lantern” type pumpkins, and many ornamental gourds (yellow-flowered—white-flowered gourds belong to the genus Lagenaria).
  • C. maxima: Includes the giant pumpkins, buttercup, Hubbard, kabocha, and turban winter squash.
  • C. moschata: Tromboncino, often eaten as a summer squash, and butternut winter squash.
  • C. argyrosperma: Cushaw squashes/pumpkins.
  • C. ficifolia: Fig-leaf gourds, eaten as a summer squash. 

Choosing varieties
Think about the space you’ll need for your cucurbits before choosing varieties. Although many summer squashes have a bushy growth habit, some—as well as most all winter squashes, pumpkins, and gourds—take up a lot of space. Cucurbits need warm weather and lots of water to prosper, so look at the dates needed from planting to maturity and be sure you can provide a site in full sun that you can keep irrigated. North Carolina State University periodically evaluates cucurbit varieties. For detailed observations, see the NCSU webpage Cucurbit Cultivar Evaluations & Variety Trials. 

Planting
Planting squash, pumpkins, and gourds from seed is often easier than transplants if you allow sufficient time from seeding to harvest. Although there is no need to plant in hills, this may be an efficient way to organize your garden. To save space consider using supports, such as A-frame trellises, for small-fruited cucurbits. Thin to two or three plants if you use hills, or follow seed packet spacing.

Pollination
Cucurbits typically have male and female flowers—you can see an immature fruit at the base of the female flowers. You will often see flowers for a while before fruits form, or you may see immature fruits that don’t develop. Often the first flowers are all male, or the first female flowers may open when there are no male flowers open. If you don’t see insects pollinating your plants, you can pick a newly opened male flower and swirl the center structure (stamen) on the inside of open female flowers.

Squash blossom
Squash blossom
Immature squash fruit at base of female blossom
Immature squash fruit at base of female blossom

Maintenance
Water. Keep your planting moist until seeds sprout. It is typical for leaves to wilt midday, but if they are wilted in early morning or evening, they need water! Water plants at the base, close to the soil—avoid handling and working when plants are wet.
Mulch helps moderate soil temperature and moisture and keeps down weeds, but if you want plants to form additional roots along their stems, allow for some bare ground! Additional roots can help your planting survive insect attacks.
Weed. Remove weeds as soon as they appear so you don’t damage stems when rooting out larger weeds once the vines start to run.
Fertilizing. Cucurbits are heavy feeders, so prepare to fertilize regularly throughout the growing season.
Insects and diseases to watch for. Squash beetles, bugs, and—especially borers—can spell trouble for the longevity of your plantings. Striped cucumber beetles can introduce both bacterial wilt and cucumber mosaic. Cucurbits are susceptible to both downy and powdery mildew.

Harvesting
The North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook advises for summer squash:

Harvest when the fruit is soft, tender, and 6 to 8 inches long (3 to 4 inches across for patty pans). The skin color often changes to a dark, glossy green or yellow, depending on cultivar. Pick every two to three days to encourage production…. Harvest pumpkins and winter squash before frost and after the vine dries, the fruit color darkens, and the skin surface resists puncture from a thumbnail. Avoid bruising or scratching the fruit while handling it. Leave a 3-inch to 4-inch portion of stem attached to the fruit and store in a cool, dry location with good ventilation.

Note that winter squash may look ready to harvest well before they have matured! Gourds in the Cucurbita genus are soft-shell rather than hard-shell gourds; harvest before frost, and dry indoors. Note that you can also harvest squash blossoms for culinary use when they are about to open.

I am already enjoying my summer squash this season, but you can continue planting until late July! Wait until next year for planting winter squash, pumpkins, and gourds.

Article written by Debbie Green, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

More information
Garden Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs in North Carolina
by North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension

Growing Gourds
by NC State Extension

Growing Pumpkins and Winter Squash
by NC State Extension

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Categories Vegetables & Fruits Tags cucurbits, gourds, pumpkins, squash

Cucurbits Are Hit by Downy Mildew

July 29, 2013

Cucurbits Downy Mildew
Cucurbits Downy Mildew

Source:   WNC Vegetable and Small Fruit News

Cucurbits or Cucurbitaceae are members of the gourd family and include the popular crops of cantaloupe, cucumber, pumpkin, squash and watermelon. In recent years Downy mildew has become an important disease of all these crops, especially in areas with high humidity and rainfall. Optimum conditions for sporulation are about 60 degrees with 6-12 hours of moisture present (usually in the form of morning dew).

The pathogen, Pseudoperonospora cubensis, causes angular, chlorotic, yellowing lesions on the foliage. These lesions appear angular because they are bound by leaf veins, not round as a fungal disease would show. During humid conditions, inspection of the underside of the leaf may reveal gray-brown to purplish-black ‘down’.

Eventually, leaves will turn necrotic and curl upwards. Symptoms on watermelon and cantaloupe are different than on other cucurbits; leaf spots are typically not angular and turn brown to black in color.

The disease is sometimes called “wildfire” because of how rapidly it progresses, as if burned by fire.

Sometimes it will infect certain cucurbits and not others. For example, it’s been observed that where cucumber and squash grown in close proximity perhaps only the cucumber is diseased. When a pathogen exhibits this type of host specificity, it is referred to as a pathotype.

Controlling downy mildew requires use of resistant cultivars, fungicide applications and early detection. Fungicides are most effective when applied prior to infection and reapplied at 5- to 7-day intervals.

Fungicides such as chlorothalonil and mancozeb can be used as a protectant. Other  chemicals are registered for use against Downy Mildew so read the labels in your to see what else might be available to use on a rotation basis.

You may find other products at your garden center that are labeled for Downy mildew but make sure your crop is listed.

The pathogen overwinters in an area that doesn’t experience a hard frost (e.g., Southern Florida) and moves north carried by the winds. But that doesn’t mean that you should ignore sanitation!

Next year look for cultivars resistant to downy mildew that have been developed for cucumber and cantaloupe and to a lesser extent for squash and pumpkin.

Article written by Glenn Palmer, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

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Categories Vegetables & Fruits Tags cucumbers, cucurbits, downy mildew, squash

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