Summer squash (zucchini, yellow straightneck and crookneck, pattypan) is picked young with a soft skin; winter squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti) is left to harden for storage. Despite the names, Florida grows both in the cooler parts of the year, not in the heat of summer. The most common letdown is fruit that shrivels or drops because the flowers were not pollinated.2, 3
When to plant squash (summer and winter) in Florida
direct seed (or containerized transplants with developed roots)
Seed depth (inches)
1 to 1 1/2 (summer); 1 1/2 to 2 (winter)
Spacing in the row (inches)
12 to 24 (summer); 36 to 60 (winter)
Between rows (inches)
36 (summer); 60 (winter)
Days to harvest
40 to 50 (summer); 85 to 120 (winter)
Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide windows. Summer squash: late March to April or August to September in North Florida; January to April or August to September in Central Florida; August to March in South Florida. Winter squash: February to April or August to September in North Florida; January to April or August to September in Central Florida; August to March in South Florida. Gardening Solutions gives slightly different summer squash dates (North: February to April and August to September; Central: February to May and August to September). Squash will not survive a freeze, so count back from your first frost; late sowings call for an early variety. Gardening Solutions suggests four to six summer squash plants will feed a family of four.
Full sun; at least six hours of direct sun for winter squash
Water
Mulch to hold soil moisture and keep fruit off the ground.
Summer squash usually grows as a bush; winter squash vines spread widely, so give it room, grow it on a trellis, or choose bush or semi-vining types. Every squash plant has separate male and female flowers, and insects (mainly bees) must carry pollen between them; shriveled or dropping young fruit means poor pollination. EDIS IN1311 notes that the specialist squash bees common elsewhere are absent from most of Florida, so plant flowers nearby to draw wild bees, avoid sprays that harm them, and hand-pollinate if fruit set stays low. Winter types store well.
Squash vine borer: Named on both Gardening Solutions squash pages.
Caterpillars and fruitworms: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) works on the caterpillars that attack squash.
Aphids, whiteflies, leafminers, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, cutworms and mole crickets: Other insects listed for summer and winter squash. Protect pollinators: if you must spray, do it in the evening when bees are less active.
Powdery mildew and downy mildew: Common leaf diseases. Zucchini leaves naturally carry silvery-gray blotches that are easy to mistake for mildew, so check before treating.
Mosaic virus and fruit rots: Listed for summer squash; fungal and bacterial problems rise in warm, wet months.
Gummy stem blight: EDIS PP280 lists squash and pumpkin among its hosts; butternut fruit can be infected even when the vines look healthy.
Summer squash is ready 40 to 50 days from seed. Cut the stem so an inch or two stays on the fruit, which helps it keep, and wear gloves because stems can be prickly. Picking often keeps plants producing. Winter squash takes about 85 to 120 days (three to four months); it is ready when a fingernail will not dent the rind and the stem has hardened and dried. Winter squash keeps up to about six months.
FAO's cucumber entry says squash, zucchini and melons, like cucumbers, are high-value summer crops that suit media beds because of their large root systems, and that cucurbits need a lot of nitrogen and potassium, so plant numbers should match the fish stock (p. 173). FAO also lists zucchini among the high-nutrient-demand fruiting plants better suited to established systems (p. 92). SRAC 454 does not discuss squash.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
No UF/IFAS soil pH or fertilizer rate specific to squash was found; both left null.
Summer squash planting dates for North and Central Florida differ between the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide and Gardening Solutions; both are given in the notes.
Your county extension office and its Florida Master Gardeners can fill these in for your garden.