How to Grow Squash & Zucchini in Florida

Summer squash and zucchini are fast and generous, plant them in the cooler shoulders and stay ahead of the borers.

Squash crops in as little as 50 days, so it suits Florida's spring and fall windows. The challenge is not growing it, it is keeping squash vine borer and pickleworm off it.

When to plant in Florida

Varieties

• 'Early Prolific Straightneck' and 'Yellow Crookneck' — classic yellow squash.
• 'Black Beauty' zucchini — reliable and productive.
• Seminole pumpkin — if borers defeat you, this Florida native shrugs them off.

How to grow it

• Full sun, rich soil, steady water; direct-sow once warm.
• Succession-sow every 3-4 weeks so a younger plant is always coming on.
• Hand-pollinate (transfer pollen from male to female flowers) if young fruit shrivels.

Pests & problems

Squash vine borer (sudden wilt, sawdust frass at the base) and pickleworm (holes in fruit) are the big ones; powdery mildew arrives in humidity. Mound soil over the vine, inject Bt or use row cover until flowering, and plant resistant types.

Harvest

Pick young, 6-8 inches for zucchini and small for crookneck; daily picking keeps plants producing for weeks.

Source: UF/IFAS Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (SP 103).

When to plant in your region

Pick your region to see the planting months for squash where you garden.

See also: Squash in the plant library →

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