Squash Seeds — Cucurbita pepo

Kumi Kumi for the Summer Vege Patch

Squash (Cucurbita pepo) is a familiar favourite in many New Zealand gardens, with green, ribbed fruit and mild flesh that is lovely picked young and tender. Slice it into stir-fries, steam it as a simple side dish, or add it to a summer vegetable bake.

These vigorous annual plants need warmth and room to spread. Keep an eye on developing fruit through summer, as regular picking at a young stage gives tender skins and softer seeds for easy kitchen preparation.

Why Gardeners Love It

• 🥒 Tender young harvests — enjoy as a summer squash or marrow
• 🌿 Vigorous growth — give vines room in the vege patch
• 🍽️ Versatile mild flavour — useful in stir-fries, bakes and steamed dishes
• 💚 Distinctive ribbed fruit — green skin with natural markings
• ✂️ Regular picking — harvest young for tender skin and soft seeds
• ☀️ Summer growing — enjoys a warm, sunny position

Growing Tips for New Zealand

Sow under cover in spring, approximately 3–4 weeks before planting outside after the last frost. Alternatively, sow directly in late spring to early summer once soil has warmed. Squash is frost tender and dislikes cold, wet conditions.

Sow approximately 2–3 cm deep in individual pots of seed-raising mix or prepared garden soil. Keep moist but not waterlogged. Germination usually takes around 5–10 days at approximately 20–25°C. Harden off seedlings gradually and transplant while young, keeping roots as undisturbed as possible.

Choose full sun and fertile, free-draining soil enriched with compost. Allow approximately 1–1.5 m between plants and additional room for vines to spread. Avoid crowding so air can move around the foliage.

Water consistently at soil level, especially during flowering and fruit development. Mulch to retain moisture, keeping mulch away from the main stem, and feed as needed with a suitable fruiting-vegetable fertiliser.

Allow pollinating insects access to flowers. If flowers appear but young fruit fails to develop, hand-pollination between male and female flowers may help. Early male flowers can appear before female flowers, so give young plants time to establish.

Harvest while fruit is young and the skin is still tender, using a clean knife or secateurs to cut the stalk rather than pulling on the vine. Check plants frequently during warm weather. Larger fruit develops tougher skin and firmer seeds and may need peeling and deseeding before cooking.

What’s in the Packet

Each packet contains 10 Squash seeds (Cucurbita pepo).

📄 Want to go even deeper? The CHBotanics Propagation from Seeds Manual — Professional Edition — a comprehensive digital PDF covering sowing times, germination, spacing, and much more across dozens of flower and vegetable species, is available as an instant download. 🌱😊