How to Grow Spaghetti Squash



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Days to germination: 10 to 14 days
Days to harvest: 90 to 100 days
Light requirements: Full sun
Water requirements: Regular watering
Soil: Loose, fertile and well-draining soil
Container: Possible but not ideal

Introduction

The name of the spaghetti squash comes from its unique flesh. When cooked, the fibers give the squash a very distinctive strands that look a lot like orange spaghetti. The added texture makes spaghetti squash a favorite with children who turn their noses up at the softness of other types of squash.

Squashes of all kinds are very healthy, and often eaten more as a starch than a vegetable in a meal. You can’t eat spaghetti squash raw, and its best baked. The inside flesh is scraped out with a fork, to help bring out the “spaghetti” nature of the squash.

They are extremely high in vitamin A, and also good sources of potassium, fiber and vitamin C.

Starting from Seed

Spaghetti squash need a long growing season and warm temperatures, and that includes warmth at planting time. So any seeds would have to go out after your frost date as passed. But starting your seedlings indoors is a common way for gardeners to start their squash plants.

Plant your seeds inside about a month before your local last frost date. Squash seedlings will grow fairly large in a month, so small 6-pack style seed trays won’t likely suffice. If you start them that way, you’ll have to replant them in larger containers before your outside plant date. Three or four seeds can go in each 3″ pot, about 1″ deep under the soil.

They’ll need to be kept somewhere warm as well as sunny in order to properly germinate and sprout.

Transplanting

Plan to put your seedlings into the garden about 2 weeks after the date of your last spring frost. Your soil should be dug up thoroughly to get it loose for the big seedlings, and mix in some aged manure or compost while you are at it. Squash likes nutrients in its soil. Your squash spot needs full sun, and you should allow for 3 feet between each hill (you will just be planting one pot in each location, with 3 or four seedlings in it).

If you are not starting with indoor-grown seedlings, you will still have to wait for 2 weeks past the frost date. If you’ve had cool weather, you can lay black plastic down over the garden before planting to help warm up the soil. The seeds won’t sprout in the cold. Plant them in hills, just like you did with the transplants, about 3 per hill.

Many squashes can be grown vertically to save space, but this isn’t the best idea with a spaghetti squash. The fruits are just too big and it is awkward to try and support them on the vine when hanging in mid-air. It can be done, as long as you are willing to put in a bit of extra effort with your trellis and support structures.

Growing Instructions

Keep your plants watered, and weed-free while the leaves are developing. Once the wide leaves are fully grown, they will start to shade their surrounding soil and will keep the weeds out without your help.

After the peak of the summer has passed, you should remove any new blossoms that your squash vines produce. There won’t be enough time left for them to mature and the plant’s resources would be better used growing the already-developing squash on the vine.

Because the squash will be growing for the full length of the season, they can be prone to getting rot underneath where they lay on the soil. You can help protect your squash with tiles or coffee can lids under each fruit.

Containers

You can grow spaghetti squash in a large container, at least 5 gallons for each plant. Give them a light feeding part of the way through the growing season to make up for the lack of soil nutrients in the pot.

Try to plant a variety that grows as a bush to help save on space, such as Orangetti or Tivoli. If you do grow a vining squash, be prepared to have the vines spill out of the container for several feet.

Pests and Diseases

Once established and growing well, a squash vine is quite large and can withstand a fair bit of insect damage without ill effects.

The most common insect attacker will be squash bugs, followed closely by the popular cucumber beetle. They are both big enough to be picked off by hand as soon as you see one, but make sure to check inside the blossoms as well as under the large leaves.

And those large leaves may be a benefit when it comes to weed control, but they are susceptible to getting mildew if weather is damp. It looks like a dusting of white powder on the leaves and it can effect your plant’s development and growth if it gets too heavy. Standard fungicide sprays can help to clear it up, and you can keep it from starting by watering your plants right at the soil instead of pouring water over all the leaves.

Harvest and Storage

As mentioned, spaghetti squash are very large, with each individual squash growing to be around 4 pounds in size. Each plant will produce between 4 to 6 of them. They can’t be harvested like zucchini or summer squash, you can’t pick them when they are small. They don’t develop that way. Spaghetti squash (all winter squash actually) need to fully mature before harvesting.

A tried and true method to tell if your squash is ready is to push your fingernail into the outside skin. The skin should be tough enough to withstand your nail. If it punctures, your squash need more time. Depending on your climate, another sign is that you should harvest your squash when the vines start to wither.

A whole squash can be stored in the fridge for about 2 weeks before it starts to lose its texture. You can store your squash at room temperature, as long as you have somewhere very dry. Moisture will quickly ruin a spaghetti squash, but barring dampness, it should keep for a few months.

32 Responses to “How to Grow Spaghetti Squash”

  1. James  Says:
    April 30th, 2011 at 9:47 am

    Do the spaghetti squach run in the garden?

  2. Bart  Says:
    June 13th, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    Yes they do. Its a vine similar to butternut squash, if you’ve ever grown those. They can get pretty long, so you have to help them stay in their growing area, or they’ll take over.

  3. rosie  Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 8:03 am

    Thanks! Exactly the information I needed to supplement the seed packet instructions.

  4. Lissy  Says:
    July 7th, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    Bart is so right about them taking over. We have our first ever crop of spaghetti squash. It’s amazing how the vines have “left” the garden, grown across the lawn and are nearly to the back wall of the house. They are FULL of squash. It’s pretty exciting since it’s our first try, but they are spreading like kudzu…LOL! Next year we will “contain” them in the garden better. We don’t want to disturb them this year and lose our squash. I came to this site to see how to tell when the proper harvest time is, so I’m glad to find that info. So good to know, since the timing is much different from zucchini or yellow crookneck squash, which we have a gazillion of right now and have to pick daily.

  5. Deborah  Says:
    July 12th, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    I just grew 2 spaghetti squash plants that I started indoors in late March, took them outside during warm days through early April, then transplanted into my garden at the end of April. I just harvested 6 squash from 1 plant today and there are 8 more on another plant with another 3 – 4 that are coming on. A BIG BIG tip, keep the non producing blossoms pinched off, this REALLY helped production a LOT. It made the plant focus on the healthy squash instead of trying to produce unhealthy ones. When you get the squash started on the vine keep moving them about when they’re tough enough to stand it. It keeps the squash from rotting on 1 side. I would occasionally pick up the squash and dust them off as well, this really helped the skin. Another big tip, don’t pull them even though they’re turning yellow, wait at least another 2 – 3 weeks until they’re good and yellow before pulling. There are pricklies on the stalks, so be careful, I found this out pretty quick and was picking some out of my fingers. BTW, I have terrible soil, it’s red clay, packs down really quickly, and dries out pretty fast. To be honest, I think the squash like it dry. I only watered them once a week versus the rest of my garden. My remedy for the packing down red clay is to plant anything that requires a lot of nutrients in “hills”. That means I gather the dirt up into a foot and half tall mound and then plant with all of the starter soil still attached to the plant. The tried and true method of burying a fish at the root of the plant works amazingly as well. We just used Miracle Gro a few times. I do not use pesticides, I just keep pulling any pest off the vines. I make it a point to go into my garden daily. As for how long it took from transplant to harvest, almost exactly 90 days. I would think the Miracle Gro boosted that time. I cannot grow carrots in my soil, they never get bigger than my pinky. I also do not have success with potatoes. These things I have given up on. Everything else does wonderfully.

  6. Bob Edmondson.  Says:
    July 13th, 2011 at 10:28 am

    I live in Calgary,Alberta,and i have planted some spaghetti squash for the first time this year.I started them in the greenhouse and then planted them in the garden.They are now about 4ft long and have squash on them.Our growing season is about 3 months if we are lucky.I have cut the end off some of the plants as i only have about 7 weeks to go before our first frost.I want to make sure some of them mature before the frost hits them.Is this the way to go or should i leave them a bit longer?.I have been feeding and watering them like i do my tomato plants which i have already taken the top off as they have 5 sets of flowers on.Any advise will be greatly received.

  7. Buff  Says:
    July 13th, 2011 at 10:40 am

    My wife and I grew it for the first time and figured that trellising it would be the best way to control this monster. My one plant climbed 7 feet high before I had to train the vines to go back down the trellis. There are some lovely vegetables on sturdy vines.

  8. Brian  Says:
    July 13th, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    My plant keeps producing flowers but no squash. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

  9. Penny  Says:
    July 21st, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    I’m just wondering… Can you grow spaghetti squash from the seeds of the spaghetti squash you buy in the store or do you need special seed packet seeds? They don’t seem to have these seeds at the stores around here.

  10. Sharon  Says:
    July 21st, 2011 at 8:00 pm

    I read that there are both male and female blossoms. The male have the pollen and open first. Do you have bees to pollinate? You can do it yourself if you pick the male flower with the pollen and tap it into the female flower(which has a yellow ball-like shape at the base of the flower) I’ve never had to try it, but that’s what I read. Good luck.

  11. Jan  Says:
    July 29th, 2011 at 7:41 am

    I have my spagetti squash growing on tomatoe cages. They are growing fast and look healthy and a lot of blossoms, but the small young squash are drying up. Why? They have plenty of watering. This is Arkansas, so heat is no factor. The plant looks really healthy.

  12. Rosemary Stanley  Says:
    July 30th, 2011 at 5:39 am

    I have grown spaghetti squash for the first time and used seeds saved from a grocery store squash. they grew great, in fact nearly took over my garden. I did have some trouble with bottom rot with the damp ground and weeds (will correct that next year) but a bigger problem was a grub that burrowed into the flesh and caused considerable damage. Is this the above mentioned squash bugs or cucumber beetle? I am planning the trellis plan next year and I think that will help.

  13. shannon  Says:
    July 31st, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    Pollinating curcubits by hand is fun and you can create all sorts of crazy hybrid fruits by wiping pollen from zucchini,gourds,squash,pumpkin etc into a female flower from a different type. And yes you should be able to grow from seeds from produce you’ve bought especially if its locally grown – ie right for your area, ripe and not treated with nastys so that it can be transported for 1000’s of miles!!

  14. Charles Hryniewicz  Says:
    August 3rd, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    I planted 2 seeds from a squash I bought in a store. The vines are growing everywhere as other people have stated. I have quite of lot of squash growing, but none of them resemble Spaghetti squash. They all look weird, some like crooked neck gourds, some like knoby pancake squash, different colors, some look like yellow summer spuash. Don’t know what the end product will be, so I’m going to let them grow. I’m in Southeastern Il. Any thoughts.

  15. bobbyjim  Says:
    August 4th, 2011 at 9:03 am

    Tried growing Spaghetti squash for the first time this year. Yikes…..! My wife says I didn’t read up enuff on the subject (she’s right, of course).
    Some while little worms started drilling thru the plants. Some had fallen off other I cut off to get them away from the bugs. They’re all over one pound and about 11-14 inches long. Are they edible….???

  16. bobbyjim  Says:
    August 4th, 2011 at 9:10 am

    forgot to ask:
    how long will they keep after cutting them down, and how are they best stored…???

    thanx

  17. Bev  Says:
    August 5th, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    Hi does anyone know where I might buy a spaghetti squash in the UK I have found forums saying Waitrose stock them but I e-mailled them and they no longer stock this line. Thanks Bev

  18. Maria Birch  Says:
    August 15th, 2011 at 1:17 pm

    I put all my kitchen peelings, etc into my vegetable planter boxes all Winter. I guess the seeds of a spaghetti squash I threw away decided to spout under my zuchinni plants. I have several large spaghetti squashes speading everywhere in the yard.I love it!

    Bev – would you like me to send you seeds? I can look for them at the store or give you some of my seeds when I cut open my squash.

  19. Mark  Says:
    August 21st, 2011 at 10:32 am

    I have what i believe is a spaghetti squash plant; it grew from seed that made it into my compost pile. The plant is huge…20″ feet across and there are 4 large and several smaller squash. The largest are the size of a large watermellon…really big. If i had to guess, i’d say 10 lbs. Is this normal?

  20. Sandy  Says:
    August 22nd, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    My spaghetti squash is growing with beautiful leaves and flowering but I don’t see any squash and the stem part coming out of the earth seems shriveled up. Any ideas?

  21. Nancy Waller  Says:
    September 21st, 2011 at 7:43 am

    I have many HUGE squash growing and since I have never grown these before I’m not sure what they are supposed to look like. They are long, fat, green stripes that look similar to watermelon, except for the shape. Do they turn yellow? Is it too late for them to fully ripen? We are in St. Paul, Mn. They have been in the garden about 80 days (?) Can’t remember exactly when I planted them. Thanks for any help you can give me.

  22. Administrator  Says:
    September 21st, 2011 at 7:53 am

    As the squash ripens, the stripes disappear.

    Hopefully you have enough time left, if a frost is called for consider covering the squashes.

  23. Rosemary  Says:
    October 8th, 2011 at 7:38 pm

    An idea for everyone picking late-season blossoms off: fry them up Italian style (delicious)!
    I’ve mainly had this with zucchini blossoms–sometimes stuffed with a bit of cheese–but I think any squash will do, and hey – “fried spaghetti blossoms” sounds quirkily catchy. No tried and true recipes of my own to share, but here are a couple likely to pan out:
    http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Stuffed-and-Fried-Squash-Blossoms
    http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/vegetable_flowers.html
    btw, The Splenid Table says this of male vs. female flowers (holds true for spaghetti squash): “You want male flowers which have stems. Females are attached to the squash. Harvest flowers once they have just opened and use them as soon as possible.” … probably good to know if you’re trying to help out the bees, too.
    The Rusted Garden has nice photos of male vs. female flowers:
    http://therustedgarden.blogspot.com/2011/06/spaghetti-squash-male-and-female.html

  24. angy  Says:
    November 6th, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    We had to take out spaghetti squash in before they ripened. They are still green striped with a little yellow. Will they ripen in the house?

  25. Perkins  Says:
    November 24th, 2011 at 11:21 pm

    I’m wondering if, when the squash starts to grow, you can trellis them on a fence and keep them supported by putting them in a loose piece of panty hose. This would support the squash and allow for growth and, hopefully deter those little bugs. I am really excited about starting a planting next spring!

  26. Yvonne  Says:
    November 28th, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    I started my spaghetti squash plants late (Sept)
    and still have 4 on their vines. I was looking for information about taking them off the vine.
    I tried to stake them; they are too heavy. So I’m using a shallow round pan upside down to rest the largest one on. Trellis and pantyhose sounds like a great idea.
    My squash are yellow before pollinated and when they grow.
    This is my first attempt @ growing squash.

  27. StarmanSyd  Says:
    December 27th, 2011 at 5:56 am

    Hi there,

    I’m in Australia, I have grown Spaghetti Squash before quite sucessfully, but this year my plants seem only to have male flowers. Can anyone give me any ideas of how I can encourage females to develop, if possible!!!!! I know how to polinate the flowers, I do it regularly for my Zuchinnies and other squash so if the female flowers come along there should be no excuse for squash to develop. By the way since I have grown the plants we have had a huge amount of rain. Australia is supposed to be dry, this year its not.
    Any help would be greatfully appreciated. Thanks

  28. Rose  Says:
    January 12th, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    StarmanSyd, I also live in Australia and am having the same problem with my spaghetti squash – all male flowers and no female. It has been very rainy and also uncommonly cold for this time of year. Did you find a solution?

  29. DJ  Says:
    February 1st, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    The panty hose sounds like a good idea because we used the same system to “sling” canteloupe–it worked great for very heavy fruit. Looking forward to growing the spaghetti squash here in Nebraska.

  30. michelle lewis  Says:
    February 15th, 2012 at 11:41 am

    I”m not sure how much water to give My SpSquash? I started seeds from a Squash My Husband bought at the market! We live in Phoenix Az & its Our winter now ( lows in the 40″s) I’ve been giving them a few gallons every 3/4 days OH! I have 4 plants growing & 1 producing the FRUIT now ( it gets longer SUN ) anyway since I now have the FRUIT do they NEED MORE WATER? THANX New Gardener….

  31. Vikki  Says:
    May 4th, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    A couple of things I’ve learned that may help others – YES, you can dry and plant the seeds from the Spaghetti Squash you buy in the market – I do it all the time, works great. If the new fruits dry up, wilt and die – that’s a pollination problem. To correct you need to hand pollinate. Pick a “male blossom”, the one with no fruit beneath it. Strip off the petals – brush the stamen inside the blossom of the “female blossom”. This will pollinate the blossom and should help.

  32. Amanda  Says:
    May 14th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    StarmanSyd and Rose,

    I am in Northern Australia and am hoping that I can give growing Spaghetti Squash a go during winter. Do you have any tips for growing them in OZ? Thanks !

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