This article was co-authored by Olivia Choong. Olivia Choong is a Plant and Gardening Specialist and the Owner of The Tender Gardener. With more than six years of experience, she specializes in gardening, permaculture, and self-sufficient and low-impact living practices. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as The Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia (CNA). Olivia holds a Bachelor of Mass Communications in PR and Journalism from Murdoch University.
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Are you wondering how people get those nice, thick squash plants that produce heavily? Planting squash in hills can give your squash first rate drainage, helping them to grow well. Here are a few easy tricks to getting your squash patch up and rivaling your neighbors.
Note: Most squash are planted in hills instead of rows. This provides some dryness on top, since squash seed can more easily succumb to rot than other vegetable seed.
Steps
- 1Till your garden deeply by hand or by rototiller. See How.com.vn's article on how to double dig a garden for instructions.[1]
- 2Mark the placement of the hills. Hills of bushy summer squashes can be placed 2–3 feet (0.6–0.9 m) apart, while hills of vine squashes (Acorn, Hubbard, Buttercup, Pumpkin, etc.) will need to be placed 8–10 feet (2.4–3.0 m) apart to allow for spreading and to prevent hybridization when vines cross and meld.[2]Advertisement
- 3Dig a hole at each hill location. One or two good scrapes of the hoe should do the trick.
- 4Sprinkle slow release fertilizer into the hole.
- 5
- 6Cover the mound of fertilizer and manure with dirt to form a mound approximately 2 feet (0.6 m) in diameter and 6–8 inches (15.2–20.3 cm) high.
- 7Smooth the top of the hill.
- 8
- 9Poke the seeds down into the hill approximately one inch (down close to the compost).
- 10Cover the seeds with dirt.
- 11Pat the dirt down.
- Water gently at least every other day.[5]
- Thin out seedlings to three per hill once they are established.[6]
- Reapply fertilizer every 10 days.
Community Q&A
- QuestionMy zucchini plant has one stem with two flowers on it. Is this unusual?Community AnswerNo, this sounds normal.
- QuestionShould I plant three siblings together on a hill?Community AnswerYes, the root systems of the plants are designed to work together, so three plants will work great.
- QuestionWhat do I do if my squash plants have a lot of blooms, but no squash?Community AnswerWait. Male blossoms appear first to attract bees and get that area on their daily "rounds". Female blossoms appear later, and it's the females that give you squash. (Melons and cucumbers work the same way--male flowers first, a delay, then female flowers that have fruit.)
Video
Tips
- Setting up an automatic watering system will save you a lot of wet shoes. This image shows a set-up which is attached to a hose timer (USD $15) at the spigot.Thanks
Warnings
- Squash bugs, cucumber beetles and borers can attack squash. Keep an eye out for them.Thanks
Things You'll Need
- Rototiller
- Spade
- Hoe
- Fertilizer
- Manure
- Compost
- Watering supplies
References
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9_s1zm-muY
- ↑ https://veggieharvest.com/vegetables/squash.html
- ↑ https://www.amy-pennington.com/blog/compost-101-add-compost-garden
- ↑ https://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/how-to-grow-summer-squash/
- ↑ https://www.almanac.com/content/when-water-your-vegetable-garden-watering-chart
- ↑ http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/summer-squash/
About This Article
Reader Success Stories
- "I could never visualize all the details in planting squash in hills/mounds. This saved me!"
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