Squash - Benning’s Green Tint

DESCRIPTION

Benning’s Green Tint squash, an old Australian favourite, is an heirloom variety of patty pan squash. Its pale green zucchini-like fruit have a funky flattened shape and an excellent nutty flavour.

POT CARE AND PLANTING

Plants in the cucurbit family (squash, cucumber, zucchini, and pumpkin) usually cannot be grown in a pot long term, as they have vigorous and extensive root systems and need a lot of water. They're best planted into a clear space in the garden that's at least 1m by 1m, or into a very large pot, leaving some room for the large stems to trail - transplant into a larger pot or a garden bed within 7 days. Soil level can be varied, but should be well below any actively growing leaves or flowers - planting a squash in the ground slightly deeper than it is in the pot causes more roots to sprout from that part of the stem, which can make the plant stronger. Squash in pots do best when set up on the grass or bare dirt so the roots can extend into the ground below.  

WATERING

Squash are heavy water consumers, and one of the few vegetables that you may want to water twice a day during very hot weather - water them a lot longer than other plants in your garden (early morning and/or late afternoon is best in summer). It's very hard to rot the roots of a squash plant, unless it's in a pot with a saucer or on a surface that doesn't allow drainage. Always point your hose or watering can at the base of the plant, avoiding getting the leaves wet - splashing water spreads diseases that squash are vulnerable to, like fungus. If any leaves start looking mottled yellow-grey, cut them off and throw them in the bin, trying not to touch any healthy parts of the plant while you do it. Be sure to wash your hands with soap when you're done, to stop the fungus spreading to any other plants you touch. Lower leaves often get fungus, which splashes up from the soil - so it's not a bad idea to keep the lower part of the plant clear of leaves all the time, to reduce the chances of infection moving up the plant. If the whole plant remains wet for a long period of time, the larger and healthier leaves may start to turn white or grey - you won't want to cut them all off, because they can be fixed. Make a cup of chamomile tea with 1/3 milk. Put this liquid into a spray bottle and dilute it to 1-2L. Spray this medicine onto the affected leaves - this is another type of fungus, and the chamomile and the milk both work to kill it off very effectively. If you don't have both, diluting one or the other in water and spraying that solution is also effective.

SUN EXPOSURE

Squash need as much sunlight as possible to flourish. I recommend planting this in an open and sunny area of the garden, on an easy to access edge of your plot, because you'll want to harvest from it frequently to encourage more fruit.  

COMPANION PLANTING

This squash gets about 1m wide and 1m tall. It can be used to shade other vegetables in the garden that need some shelter from the sun, and will grow well about 50cm away from most things, as long as they aren't going to be shaded too much by this rapidly expanding plant. Two plant families that can be planted close to squash are maize and legumes, an ancient combination invented by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and referred to as the 'Three Sisters'. In this tradition, squash (and other cucurbits) shade the soil underneath corn, while beans (and other legumes) climb the cornstalks. The three support each other to produce more food than each could on its own - sunflowers can also be added in place of some of the corn stalks. Avoid planting this gregarious plant too close to potatoes, as these vegetables compete strongly at the same level above and below the ground and don't play well together. Get the tastiest fruit by encouraging pollinators with any flowers, but especially yellow and orange flowers that resemble the cucurbit flowers, like nasturtium, tansy, and plants in the parsley family - apiums and asters are great companions.

HARVESTING AND EATING

Squash are easy to harvest - simply cut them off the vine when they're a good size for your recipe, leaving up to an inch of stem attached to help them last longer in a ventilated part of the fridge. If you want them tender enough to sauté or stir fry, harvest the squash when young and slice them thinly. If you want to roast them, let them get a little larger and firmer before harvesting - it's best if you let the plant get quite big before trying to produce larger fruits. While the plant is young you should pick often to encourage more fruit production, and you can harvest both the male flowers, and tiny squash with the female flowers still attached. These are delicious when stuffed, twisted closed and either roasted in the oven, or battered and fried - just clear out the internal parts of the flower first because the pollen tastes bitter.

SEED SAVING AND PROPAGATION

Save some fruit from your harvest to collect seeds from by letting a couple grow to their maximum size towards the start of autumn, when the plant is strong and you've had plenty of fruit. You'll know that they're ready because the skin will become lighter in colour and resist being scratched off with a fingernail. Cut these seed squash off and place them stem up on a cutting board. Cut them into quarters, being careful not to let them slip under the knife - if this is difficult for you or you want the kids to have a go, slicing the top flat and turning the squash over before cutting it into four is a safer method. The seeds should be large and hard now, although covered in a slippery gel. You remove this by fermenting the seeds - use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a jar, fill to the top with water, and put it on a shelf in your shed or somewhere that the smell won't bother you for 3 days, lid off. After that, dump the contents of the jar into an old strainer and rinse thoroughly to reveal the clean squash seeds. Air dry these laid out on paper before storing them in an airtight container - cucurbit seeds are some of the longest lasting vegetable seeds, good for up to 10 years.  Don't sow these seeds again until next year when the risk of frost has almost passed - you can start them inside in late October, but you'll need to wait until the very start of November to plant them outside, or the leaves will curl during the cold nights. Time your sowing carefully - they need to be moved out of seedling pots after no more than 3 weeks. Cover the seeds with 15mm of soil and keep moist and warm - squash will germinate after about a week. In Armidale, experienced gardeners know that frost tender veggies can't be planted until Melbourne Cup Day. Heavy frosts return here at Easter time, so your squash will be done by that time each year.  Note: if there are other cucurbits growing nearby, the seeds you'll collect here may result in fruits with a slightly different look, texture or taste. This isn't harmful, and it's safe to try them. If you want to prevent this, there are techniques you can learn for breeding cucurbits 'true to type'.