Winter Squash

Five varieties of winter squash were grown at the Horticulture Research Center (HRC) outside of Fort Collins, Colorado during the 2004 growing season. We direct-seeded (single seeded) the squash at 2′ in-row spacing in a single row on June 3rd into beds with 30″ centers and one line of drip tape. Below are photos, yield data, and production notes for each of the varieties. Fruits were harvested on October 6th.

We also conducted a small side experiment wherein we single seeded and double seeded both vine and bush varieties of Delicata squash to see the effects on the yield of the two planting techniques. Results of that experiment are also below.

Photo
Variety
Yield Data
Notes
Bon Bon squash
Bon Bon

2.3 lbs./fruit

4.8 lbs./plant

(n=17 plants)

Good yields of flavorful, deep orange fleshed squash
Butternut Squash
Butternut

3.1 lbs./fruit

4.4 lbs./plant

(n=16 plants)

High yields of small to medium sized butternut squash
Carnival Squash
Carnival

1.7 lbs./fruit

1.4 lbs./plant

(n=49 plants)

Festive, may be used as ornamental or cooking squash. Good yields.
Cornell's bush delicata
Cornell’s Bush Delicata

1.1 lbs./fruit

1.5 lbs./plant

(n=46 plants)

Eating quality of Delicatas ranks extremely high. Good storage, high yields, easy to grow, reliable.
Delicata vine squash
Delicata – vine

1.0 lbs./fruit

1.2 lbs./plant

(n=37 plants)

Preliminary studies indicate that vine Delicata is more productive than Bush Delicata at 2′ spacing.
sunshine squash
Sunshine

2.8 lbs./fruit

2.7 lbs./plant

(n=35 plants)

Extra tastey, creamy squash.

Below are the graphs from the side experiment. There was very little difference between the weight per squash between bush Delicata seeded with one seed per hole (bush-1) versus bush Delicata seeded with two seeds per hole (bush-2). There was a slight decrease in the weight per squash in the vine Delicata squash seeded with two seeds per hole (vine-2) versus vine Delicata squash seeded with one seed per hole (vine-1).

bar graph of pounds of fruit harvested per bush

The more dramatic difference in this side experiment was shown when comparing the pounds of marketable fruit per plant between treatments. Double-seeding the planting holes greatly decreased the yield per plant to almost half, negating the perceived benefits of double seeding.

Bar Graph of Pounds of harvest per bush planted