Growing Summer Squash, Cucumbers Is A ‘Vine’ Experience
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) Like children,
yellow summer squash, zuc
chini, and cucumbers also
known as “vine crops” re
spond best to tender, loving care
early and then need to be given
space to go out on their own, ac
cording to a vegetable expert in
Penn State’s College of Agricul
tural Sciences.
“As long as you plant vine
crops on raised beds and allow
room for growth, you should
have plenty of produce for the
summer,” said Peter Ferretti,
professor of vegetable crops.
“That’s if you’re willing to put
in a little more work early in the
process.”
Ferretti said all vine crops can
be transplanted if plantable con
tainers or plastic pop-out con
tainers are used, so gardeners
can buy starter plants from
garden centers or grow their
own from seed. He said all vine
crops require about a 21-day
growth period from seed to tran
splantion. “Count out 21 days
before Memorial Day and plant
your seeds,” he said.
Ferretti suggests planting
three seeds per starter container,
then allowing only the most vig
orous seedling to grow to matu
rity. “In order for vine plants to
germinate quickly, the tempera
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ture must be about 75 degrees
Fahrenheit,” he said. “They also
require as much light as you can
give them.”
Once seedlings are ready, they
should be planted in the evening
to reduce heat shock. As soon as
the plants are in the soil, they
must be covered with a light
mesh row cover, also known as a
‘floating row cover.”
“Cucumber beetles and corn
rootworm beetles will immedi
ately zero in on new vine
plants,” Ferretti emphasizes.
“They can ruin all the plants in
one night. Make sure the row
cover is anchored securely. It
will allow air and water to reach
the plants, but not the insects.”
Using row covers will reduce
or eliminate pesticide use. If gar
deners want to use pesticides,
Ferretti recommends calling a
Penn State Cooperative Exten
sion office or a local garden
center for information. More in
formation also is listed in a fact
sheet, “Growing Cucurbits,”
available at all extension offices.
For proper spacing, Ferretti
recommends planting pickling
cucumbers six inches apart, slic
ing cucumbers about 12 inches
apart, and zucchini and summer
squash 18 to 24 inches apart.
Each row should be a raised
earth bed covered with plastic
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mulch or fdm. Raised beds will
make it easier for gardeners to
move am'ong the plants, improve l
drainage, and reduce disease
problems.
Ferretti said gardeners get the
best results from trickle irriga
tion hoses or tapes, but standard
watering is effective as well.
As soon as flowers form on the
plants, about three weeks after
transplanting, remove the row
covers. “Vine crops must have
multiple pollinations, so you
shouldn’t discourage honey bees
or bumblebees by using insecti
cides. If the plant flowers and
just produces a tiny fruit that
turns yellow and drops off, then
you have a pollination prob
lem.”
Vine crops require just mod
erate fertilization. Ferretti re
commends using a 5-10-5 or 5-
10-10 fertilizer at a rate of 3 Vi
(three and one-half) pounds per
100 square feet before or right
after planting. “You want a re
duced nitrogen fertilizer because
nitrogen will put more growth
into the foliage, not the crop.”
Zucchini and summer squash
should be picked when they are
6 to 8 inches long. “The excep
tions are smaller middle eastern
varieties, which should be
picked when 4 inches in length,”
Ferretti said.
Pickling cucumbers should be
picked when 3 to 4 inches long,
or at 2 inches if planning to
pickle gherkins. Standard or
slicing cucumbers can be picked
when they reach 8 inches. Gour
met or burpless cucumbers
should grow at least 11 or 12
inches before picking.
“Rely on the seed packet for
harvesting information,” Fer
retti said. “The longer gourmet
cucumbers are rarely found in
supermarkets because their skin
is so fragile they are rarely
shipped. These are perfect for
Ida’s
Notebook
Ida Risser
The leaves on the trees in our
meadow have shut us off from
our neighbors. We are sur
rounded by a sea of various
shades of green. There is plenty
of work to keep us busy here at
home.
I’ve had sugar peas to pick
since the middle of May. They
are earlier this year as they were
planted in March. The pheasant
that I mentioned earlier, who
lives in our yard, has found our
strawberry patch. However, I do
believe that there will be enough
for him and for us.
Last week I attended a
women’s luncheon at our
church. As is my custom, I was
able to take a large bouquet of
iris. There were six different
shades of blue, yellow and
brown. As the petals break off
easily it was a problem to trans
port them safely in the car. I
usually cut a hole, the size of the
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at local farm markets.”
By late June, gardeners will
need to spray for squash vine
borers two times, one week
apart. Ferretti recommends
asking local garden centers for
appropriate pesticides.
Ferretti said recommended
cucumber varieties are resistant
to many diseases and top squash
varieties usually are tolerant of
mildews and some viruses. Gar
deners can use a general fungi
cide that contains copper to
prevent leaf spots and some mil
dews.
vase base, in a large cereal box in
order to hold them upright in
the car.
Our speaker for the day was a
lady who was a quilter. She dis
played some of her work and
gave a talk on their background.
It is an art from frontier days
and they are not only beautiful
but also serve a useful purpose.
We are not big popcorn
eaters. But, one rainy day I de
cided to use some popcorn that
we were given long ago. So, after
popping it in a heavy kettle on
the stove I decided to make
caramel corn.
It ended up fdling two big
roasting pans and was shared
with another family. I’ll bet it
won’t take long for the three
grandchildren to empty the tins
and bags of this snack.
Now I must pull more weeds
while the ground is still quite
wet.
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