Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Peanut Squash, Sweet Potato Squash

Group/Class:  Winter Squash

Description:

Low maintenance and easy to grow, this selection is perfect for full sun gardens; produces small oblong, creamy white with dark green stripe fruit; sweet flavor, much like sweet potato, great roasted, stuffed, and in soups; blossoms are edible

Edible Qualities

Delicata Squash is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces creamy white oblong fruit with dark green stripes and gold flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The fruits have a sweet taste.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Baking
• Freezing

Planting & Growing

Delicata Squash will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 3 feet apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom variety.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Delicata Squash is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing the canvas against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.