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Guest Post – Summer Squashes
Profile: Mr McGregor is a guest blogger for popular Garden Centre, Notcutts, who are proud to offer their customers the best products and start up kits to get their own kitchen garden up and running.
Courgettes are a McGregor family favourite
In the McGregor household, squashesare a firm favourite; in the summer we love to put a cool cucumber in our salads, adore feasting on melons for breakfast and enjoy creating new recipes with courgettes. The only squash I grow that we don’t eat is the mighty pumpkin, but when Halloween comes by they make terrific Jack-O’-lanterns.
The squash family or cucurbitaceae as they are also known, produce some of the world’s biggest fruits and offers a food everyone is sure to enjoy. As long as you have the right conditions; slightly acidic soil and a sunny spot in the garden or on the allotment, then you should be able to grow the whole family.
Cucurbitaceae love heat, sun and lots of water, but if the flowers fill with rain or wet pollen, the outcome can be completely different. With melons and cucumbers it’s best to grow them under a cloche or poly tunnel, but for pumpkins, courgettes and squashes choose a sunny open bed.
Soil Preparation
Dig plenty of organic matter into the soil to help promote foliage growth, retain moisture in the soil, but most of all feed the plants. I’ve found that incorporating well-rotted manure in the soil can help lower the PH level on an alkaline soil.
Growing Plants
These need plenty of water, so in the case of any dry spells make sure to give them a daily soak or better still, use mulch to keep moisture in the soil. Cucumbers and melons can be prone to root rot, but this can be prevented if you keep piling fresh compost up round the stems. I’ve found spraying water over the leaves is also great for growth and health.
Both cucumbers and melons can be left to trail on the ground, but they are more often trained up canes, as their tendrils will naturally twine around to haul the plants up.
Pumpkins and courgettes need plenty of space to spread out and again needs plenty of water. Pumpkins will climb if they have a chance and can be used to grow along fencing. The best thing about pumpkins is that they don’t need that much attention apart from when training.
Feeding
Fast growing plants need plenty of nutrients, which can be added through applying a liquid feed every 10 days or pilling compost round the stems.
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