Today, you will learn the growth stages of squash, Life Cycle. Squash is a kind of vegetable with a delicious taste. Growers grow them because it has many vitamins and minerals to help our body. But our topic today is about the growth stages of squash, so let us know what they are.
So, what are the growth stages of squash? The growth stages of squash are Seed Phase, Germinating Phase, Young, Seedling Phase, Older Vine Phase, Flowering Phase, Squash Bearing Phase, Harvesting Phase, and Drying Phase.
Stage 1. Seed
The first growth stage of squash is the seed phase. It means that the squash is just in the form of a seed. The squash seed is small, soft, smooth in texture, and white to brown. That is its characteristics.
The dry squash seed is capable of growing when it is hard enough. There are cases that the seeds are soft and the color white, which there’s a low percentage of growing on that kind of seed. Or the seeds that are too young. It must have a hard which surely will grow.
One squash fruit can have many seeds. Approximately there are 35 to 50+ seeds per squash fruit. And the technique to get those high-quality seeds for planting is to make the fruit ripe. Make it in the most mature appearance. It will turn green and ripe and produces quality seeds.
Stage 2. Germinating
In this growth the stage is, the squash will start to germinate. It means that the seeds will produce some roots and small green leaves.
Germinating squash seeds will have a high germination percentage if you have quality seeds. Quality seeds are mature seeds capable of growing.
You can buy some squash seeds near your location, like in the agriculture market or store. They sell those seeds with coated colors which helps the seed last long. You can also buy some squash fruit in the market and get the seeds inside.
If you want to germinate seeds and grow them, you should do it is to develop them first on the seedbox. The seedbox has many small containers to put the seeds and grow. Put first some soil inside, and then put one squash seed per container. Then cover it with some soil and water it after.
After 4 to 10 days, the squash seeds will start germinating. It takes a few days to produce some roots, and eventually, you will see some small leaves.
But you can directly plant the squash seed on the soil as others do. Then, care for it.
Stage 3. Young Seedling
This growth stage is the seedling phase. It means that the squash is in the form of a small plant with the show of some sprouted roots and few leaves appearing.
The squash seedlings need more care as their stem is very soft. Miss care can cut its stem and then dry it up and stop growing. It would help if you cared for it from the strong winds and the animals. Animals can eat the leaves.
The seedlings of squash are great when they have healthy germination. You can transplant squash seedlings when they have more leaves and have a length of 6 to 10 inches long. This way, it can grow well. It needs enough water to grow better.
But as we said a while ago, you can directly plant the seeds on the soil.
Stage 4. Older Vine
This growth stage is the squash is in the form of a mature vine. The squash started to produce more leaves and have more vines. It shows green leafy bigger size leaves.
The best squash will appear when it gets enough water, sunlight, and fertilizer. As a gardener, you should do your job to make it more healthy. It needs more care than the previous stages.
During this time, the vines will start to climb. It is a vine vegetable so that it will climb sooner. You can let the vegetable grow on the soil, but you can also put trellis where it will climb. In this way, you can easily see where the squash fruits are.
Stage 5. Flowering
This growth stage is the squash start blooming flowers. It means that the squash is 90 to 120 days old. The small to medium smooth yellow flower begins to show off during this time.
The flower of squash is sensitive. It would help if you cared for it as it might fall when something tough it. Don’t let animals go around.
This stage needs more water and fertilizer. It would help if you watered it every day as it needs it. You should also put fertilizer for it to grow healthy.
You also need to look for some pests that may attack your plants. Some worms can destroy your plants, so be aware of that.
Stage 6. Squash Bearing
This stage is the squash bear squash fruits for the first time. Yes, from the flowers, it will form into young squash fruits.
The squash has some stripes on its body, even if it is very young. It has green smooth small fruits when young and bigger when mature enough.
When the squash starts to bear fruits, it is already 90 to 120 days old. It needs more care as pests can attack the squash fruits.
Some adjustments and improvements you should take. It will help to a best bounty squash fruit-bearing will garden.
Stage 7. Harvesting
This growth stage is the squash is ready to harvest. It means that the squash is mature enough.
When the squash fruit has a hard fruit, you can now get it. It would help if you also looked for its color. A mature squash fruit should have a green to dark green, indicating its maturity. It also indicates that it is already ripe. Some of them turn yellow to orange, which means their ripeness. It will just depend on its variety.
Stage 8. Drying
At this stage is, the squash turns yellow and begins to dry. It will start to make harder seeds inside eventually dry.
The fruits turn ripe and will break out soon. During this time, you can use the seeds to grow them again and again like a cycle. It takes days or weeks to dry off.
The vines will also be started to dry and then decay.
Thank you for reading this article about the growth stages of the squash life cycle.