Use these tips on how to grow spaghetti squash in your vegetable garden this summer. Gardening tips include everything from starting seeds to harvesting squash.

How to Grow Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash is a vegetable that even those that say they don’t like squash can usually get behind. It has a different texture than the others in the winter squash category. It can lend itself to everything from bakes to pasta dishes. Growing spaghetti squash is easy and fun to do in a home garden. Here are some tips for growing spaghetti squash.

How to Grow Spaghetti Squash from Seeds

Since the growing season of spaghetti squash is about 100 days, you may opt to grow them indoors. You can start seeds by doing so in 3-inch pots. This is best because it makes transplanting later, easier. Start by placing seeds about 1 inch deep and watering. Keep them in a sunny spot for best results in germination. You will want to keep the soil warm, too, so a heating pad may be a great tool to use.

If you want to start them outdoors, you will need to make sure your soil is prepared and you have a good sunny spot to do so. Plant seeds about 24 inches apart from each other and about 1 inch deep.

For more information on starting spaghetti squash seeds, check out this post.

How to Transplant Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash should be transplanted when it is warm enough outside that the soil is at least 75 degrees.

A good way to grow spaghetti squash is with mound planting. This can be done when you prepare your soil.

Add some compost to your soil and make sure to take your seedlings through a hardening off process before transplanting.

For detailed information on transplanting spaghetti squash, including hardening off and mound planting, see this post.

Spaghetti Squash Pests and Care

One of the biggest pests you may deal with on your spaghetti squash is the squash beetle. They are large enough to see. They are flat and lay their eggs on the leaves of your plants. You can save yourself some trouble later if you look for these eggs and scrape them off gently with a butter knife.

Aphids are also a concern. You can rid your plants of these with a quick spritz from the hose. Additionally, one can intentionally cultivate a ladybug population in order to keep the aphids under control.

Additional pests can include cucumber beetles, which will leave behind wilted leaves, spider mites, which will pale the leaves, whiteflies, which will leave behind mold or yellow leaves, and melon aphids, which can leave behind twisted, curly leaves. These are best dealt with by means of spraying or hand-picking.

How to Harvest Spaghetti Squash

Harvesting spaghetti squash is all about timing. You want to pick them off when they are bright yellow in color. If they are still pale, they are not ready.

To harvest, and not hurt the plant,(should you have more on it waiting to ripen) you should use very sharp pruning shears to cut it off the vine. Do not twist or try to pull off.

If it is getting late in the season and you worry about frost, you can pick less than ripe squash and ripen it in a nice warm sunny spot off the vine.