Squash
Squash requires a fertile and water retentive soil. The plant also needs large quantities of water to support a large vegetative vine and the final fruit development. There are many different types of squash all with very different characteristics. The best way to categorise them is as summer and winter squashes. As the name suggests the summer squash is harvested in the summer and the winter squash is harvested in late autumn to early winter. The main difference between the two is that the summer squash have soft thin skins and winter squash have tougher skins which favour storage. In the right conditions Winter squash can be stored for up to 12 months.
Planting starts around the end of April after the risk of late frosts has passed. Following planting the crop is overlaid with a synthetic fleece cover. This has the affect of increasing the atmospheric and soil temperature and speeding up early growth this manmade microclimate.
Increased temperature and humidity means the crop has to be closely monitored for pest and disease pressures which like the plants thrive in the more favourable conditions. Summer squash will be coming ready for harvest 80 days after planting and winter approximately 100 days