Growing winter squash tough but rewarding

October marks endings and beginnings for the gardener, the end of the growing season, the month of harvest. We begin the winterlong ritual of pulling the evening meal from baskets in the corner of the kitchen instead of from the ground.

October is the month of apples and the month of winter squash and onions hardening on top of the beds where they were grown. In our home, these three fruits of autumn often come together in a favorite winter meal, gingered squash and apple soup. The growing of the apples we leave to the experts, going out to pick them from the orchard trees on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but the onions and winter squash are from our garden. And while growing a crop of onions for winter storage is no mean task, producing a bumper crop of winter squash in Maine will challenge the skill and commitment of the best of us.

One key to success is providing the crop with the longest possible growing season. While seeds of winter squash need warm soil for germination and vigorous seedling development, the typical cold and rainy Maine spring will delay direct sowing and shorten the growing season to the point that the squash fruits do not have time to fully develop. So we start the seeds indoors with the goal of bringing sturdy transplants to the garden bed when the soil temperature has warmed.

Seeds are sown in trays of germinating mix warmed from below by heating mats. As soon as they germinate, the seedlings are grown under fluorescent lights that we keep just above the seedlings, raising them as necessary while the transplants grow. A timer controls the lights, producing a 14-hour “day.”

Meanwhile, we hedge our bets in the garden, covering the winter squash bed with infrared-transmissive plastic (IRT plastic, available by mail from garden supply companies) to speed up soil warming and keep the soil warm during the growing season. At planting, small cuts are made in this plastic cover to accommodate the transplants.

After the plants are in the ground, success depends on providing ample water during the growing season. The plastic cover, while keeping the soil warm, impedes water penetration. A drip irrigation system installed under the plastic would be best, although we get by with the hose, making sure that each plant gets a good soaking.

Yes, growing a bumper crop of winter squash takes a lot of work. It also takes up a lot of garden space. Still, there is great satisfaction in October as you gather the crop into baskets that will be the winter store.

Alternatively, you can treat the winter squash like the apples, leaving their production to those with the know-how and the land. There are farms that will let you pick your own. And there are the seasonal roadside farm stands that sell all the fruits of October. Now that these growers are providing the smaller and sweeter varieties of winter squash that are our favorites (see sidebar), we may leave the growing to them, planting our garden beds to the fruits of summer.

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Favorite winter squash

? ‘Sweet Dumpling’ – a small, 4-inch-round, teacup-shaped squash, the perfect single-serving squash. Its skin is ivory-colored with dark green stripes. A good squash for winter storage, lasting up to four months.

? ‘Carnival’ – half again as big as ‘Sweet Dumpling’ with colorful patches of dark green, light green, orange and yellow.

? ‘Delicata’ – our favorite! Each 1- to 2-pound fruit is up to 9 inches long and 3 inches wide, perfect for a single serving. Its skin is cream-colored with dark green longitudinal stripes. Very sweet, it is the best for baking.