squash spacing

[lazy gardener]

My soil could be better but it is not too bad. I have been adding to it every year compost and manure from my chickens so it gets better every year. I don't think the soil is the problem cause we plant eggplant in the same soil last year and we got so much eggplant we did not know what to do with it all. by mid September we were really sick of eating it. LOL. But it was nice to finally have something turn out for us. And our tomato's were grown in same soil the year before and they did fairly well too.

squash is a very heavy feeder. It was from 3 plants of the Butter Cup and 3 plants of Red Kuri.

 

[bugkiller]

What do you add to your soil to improve it. I will be doing butternut and ape gettin squash the is year and also trying trombone squash and plan on making an arch for them all to climb I will most likley dedicate an entire 4x8 raised bed just for these plants. Thanks for the help.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Agree with lazygardener that squash is a very heavy feeder. Is your soil relatively thin? If so, bulk that stuff up!

 

[bugkiller]

Agree with lazygardener that squash is a very heavy feeder. Is your soil relatively thin? If so, bulk that stuff up!

My soil is fairly sandy but getting better as I add more compost each year. I may just suck it up and buy a couple yards of good soil this year. I just have a hard time paying for dirt. LOL I am cheap

 

[Peaches Lee]

My soil is fairly sandy but getting better as I add more compost each year. I may just suck it up and buy a couple yards of good soil this year. I just have a hard time paying for dirt. LOL I am cheap

What you need to do is find a horse farm or stable that has a manure pile. Most likely they will let you take for nothing. Take that manure and dump it right onto your existing garden. Makes wonderful loamy soil.

 

[bugkiller]

I have been adding the chicken manure to my compost. And adding that to the garden every spring

 

[lazy gardener]

I built a lasagna style hill that consisted of broken down hay bales left over from a hay bale garden from the year before, with lots of compost layered in, added as much organic matter as I could get my hands on. Also added some 5-10-5 before planting. It was about 12" high. As stated earlier, I also gave it an occasional feed of Miracle grow.

I can't say enough about the benefit of using mulch. Unless you have very thin top soil, IMO, mulch, and LOTS of it... to the tune of a 6" layer to cover the whole garden will go a very long way towards correcting any issues. In my area, I rely on spoiled hay and leaves, as well as grass clippings. Basically anything that is essentially free. And of course, this year, I can add chicken litter (poo and shavings) to the mix. My dump has a compost program with piles of leaves, stable litter, tree trimmings, and other compostables that they turn with a front end loader. I have to plan to get the stuff in the off season and store it b/c the other gardeners snap it up in the spring. (imagine that!) And, even if you have very poor or thin soil, IMO, mulch is still the answer as you can even garden on a driveway, simply by piling up layers of mulch.

 

[StupidBird]

Listening to you folks about squash firms my belief that it's imperative that I retire up north so I can finally grow squash. Mid ga has so many bugs and diseases that I continue to torture and kill many innocent veggies.

TL,DR: mulch, compost, plant in hills, miracle grow.

 

[Fluffnpuff]

Listening to you folks about squash firms my belief that it's imperative that I retire up north so I can finally grow squash. Mid ga has so many bugs and diseases that I continue to torture and kill many innocent veggies.

TL,DR: mulch, compost, plant in hills, miracle grow.

Since you are in Georgia you might find success with a native winter squash called "North Georgia Candy Roaster". http://www.rareseeds.com/candy-roaster-north-georgia-squash/
I've grown them before and they are awesome. Another squash that may be more suitable to Georgia is green striped cushaw http://www.rareseeds.com/green-striped-cushaw-squa/
Cushaws have a reputation of being resistant to squash vine borers.