When do i harvest crookneck squash

Her published articles have appeared in various print and online publications. Previously, she owned her own business, selling handmade items online, wholesale and at crafts fairs. Harrington's specialties include small business information, crafting, decorating and gardening.

Home Guides Garden Garden Care. By Jenny Harrington Updated December 28, Related Articles. The plants are so productive that one or two plants are usually enough to feed a family. Crookneck squash are best grown from seeds sowed directly in the garden. They like loose, moist, fertile soil but can grow in almost any type of soil. They need warm temperatures to bear fruits. These fast-growing plants can spread 3 to 4 feet across with leaves that are 1 to 2 feet wide, so give them plenty of room.

Learn about your variety and space your seeds or transplants as directed on the plant tag or label. Thin seedlings as directed. However, you might want to put cages around garden plants to keep the leaves from flopping over in bad weather. The fruits usually mature in 45 to 55 days. If you harvest fruits regularly, the plants will bear until frost. Crookneck squash need 6 to 8 hours a day of full, bright sun to produce fruit. The plants can be grown indoors in large containers with drainage holes and well-draining potting soil, near a bright, sunny window or under grow lights.

These plants like a soil pH of 5. They also need organically rich soil that drains easily. Improve the soil by working in 3 to 4 inches of compost, leaf mulch, or other organic matter.

Crooknecks can be planted in raised beds or containers in good quality, packaged potting soil. You can also make your own container potting soil.

Crookneck squash plants like to stay moist, but not soggy. If rainfall is lacking, water deeply with 1 to 2 inches of water per week. There are several varieties of crookneck squash, and the exact number of days between planting and harvest differs slightly between them. Varieties of crookneck squash include "Aztec," "Bandit" and "Milano. Look for the size of the fruit and the days after pollination for better indicators of when to pick your squash. It takes less than a week — four to seven days — after pollination for the crooked-neck squash to be ready for picking, but occasionally fruit set does not happen.

There are two types of flowers on summer squash plants. The first to appear will be the pollen-bearing male flowers. These have a long, narrow stem and will fall off at first. Later the female flowers will appear along with the male flowers. Picking the squash quickly encourages more to develop. When ripe, a crookneck squash will be between 4 and 6 inches in length and less than 2 inches wide. A 6-inch or longer squash may still be edible but may have a tougher texture.

Depending on the variety, the color of the squash is either bright or pale yellow. The skin is slightly shiny when ready to eat. A shiny skin means the fruit is tender. Sometimes you may miss picking a squash when it is still young and tender.