Growing Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash belongs to the species of Cucurbita Pepo and is a variety of winter squash. The alternative names for this vegetable include noodle squash, vegetable spaghetti, spaghetti marrow in the UK, fish fin melon in China and gold string melon in Japan. There are widely three varieties of this vegetable, ivory, yellow or orange. The flesh or the inside of the vegetable are not of these different colors, only the color of the rind varies. Although, they come in different varieties and colors, the taste of the vegetable is more or less the same in all of those. It's vegetable that cannot be eaten when raw and one must know the method to cook it. There are different methods of cooking it, it could be either baked or microwaved or it could be boiled or steamed. Once cooked, it needs to be scraped or scooped out using a fork after the removal of seeds and voila, you have ready-to-eat spaghetti strands! Have you ever thought of growing this noodle-producing vegetable in your garden? No? What are you waiting for? It ain't as hard as one might think.

Before we start discussing ways of growing spaghetti squash, just in case you are wondering why should one be encouraged to grow this vegetable at home then, it is simply because it is a much healthy option to those who crave for noodles and pastas. The nutrition facts indicate that it could be categorized as a deserving low calorie diet. That should be a good reason for someone to add this squash to their vegetable garden.

How to Grow Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is usually planted in the garden, as it requires a lot of room to grow, when they reach to a height of 6 inches, they are left on the trallis to grow comfortably, some also prefer the plant to just be the way it is and not spread on the trallis and place a straw under the vegetable to prevent it from rotting.

Those with space constraints don't need to get disappointed, as there's also a way of growing spaghetti squash in pots or containers. Growing squash in containers is possible with bush type varieties available.

• Use a five gallon container with holes underneath or drill holes for proper drainage as the roots tend to rot otherwise.
• You could use a plantor dolly to place the container, it would help in proper drainage and will be easy to handle.
• Fill the container with the potting soil mixture in a way that it has enough space left at the top of the container. This is to avoid spilling of water when watering. Ensure to check the soil ph levels should be between 5.5 - 7.0.
• If you are planting bush variety of spaghetti squash then, you could plant two to three of them together and when planting seeds, you could sow about six seeds in a container and then separate them when they start growing.
• The squash plant does not require daily watering unless the weather is too hot and dry. Watering the plant in every two to three days would be sufficient.
• Using fertilizers is necessary when growing squash. A water-soluble fertilizer can serve the purpose.
• They would be ready to harvest once they are ripe and when the rind of the squash becomes hard.

Those who are not interested in container gardening and have enough space in the garden but, because of the frost conditions are unable to plant them in the garden can at first plant them indoors and then once the weather conditions become normal, transplant it to the garden.

I'd say if you are someone who takes a keen interest in gardening, go ahead and try growing this fascinating vegetable in your garden. It indeed would be an interesting and pleasurable experience, especially when it comes to kids, they'd be amazed by this vegetable that transforms into spaghetti strands after cooking.