Beautiful fruit is dark green striped with light green. This Italian heirloom has a pleasing, slightly nutty flavor. The compact bush type vines are ideal for small gardens. This squash is perfect for frying, steaming, freezing, and canning.
Summer Squash – Cocozelle – Cucurbita pepo
Soil and Water: Provide squash plants with deep mounds of organic matter, rich soil, and heavy, even water. All squash are extremely frost sensitive, so use mulch to heat soils in early spring and row covers to protect from frost at both ends of the growing cycle, especially in short growing seasons.
Planting and Growing: Start seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost, or sow seed directly once soils are at least 70˚F and the danger of frost has passed.
Harvesting and Storage: Harvest squash when they are 4″-7″ long for best flavor and to keep production high. Don’t waste male squash blossoms by leaving them in the garden. Toss them in the salad bowl or add to any squash preparation. (The stem of male blossom is thin; the stem of the female blossom is thick.)
- Soil Temperature: 60°F
- Planting Depth: 1/2″-1″
- Germination: 5-10 Days
- Height At Maturity: 18-24″
- Days To Maturity: 51-60 Days
- Sun/Shade: Full Sun
- Spacing After Thinning: 24″-36
