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How to grow Summer squash in the UK

Patty pans look like little flying saucers! Grow just like courgettes, in yellow, white or green.

• DifficultyEasy peasy
• WhereBeds or Pots
• Grows to60cm
• Spacing90cm
• Time to first pickabout 10 weeks

When to sow, plant and harvest summer squash

Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.

Starting it indoors

1. Fill a small pot or tray with seed compost
2. Push the seeds in (2cm deep) - a couple per pot
3. Water gently, then put them on a bright windowsill
4. Keep the compost damp but not soggy - check it every day
5. When they have 2 proper leaves, give each seedling its own pot

Sowing it outdoors

1. Pull out any weeds and rake the top of your bed until it's crumbly, like cake crumbs
2. Make a little line in the soil (2cm deep) with your finger or a stick
3. Drop the seeds in, about 90cm apart each way
4. Gently cover them with soil and pat it down
5. Water with a watering can that has a sprinkler head
6. Push in a label so you remember what's there

Planting it out

1. Toughen them up ('hardening off'): put them outside in the day for a week, bring them in at night
2. Dig a hole a bit bigger than the pot
3. Tip the plant out gently, holding the leaves, not the stem
4. Pop it in the hole, firm the soil around it, and water well
5. Space the plants about 90cm apart each way

Top tips for growing summer squash

• Try 'Sunburst' (yellow flying saucers) or a yellow courgette like 'Soleil'.
• Sow the flat seeds on their side so water doesn't rot them.

Looking after summer squash

• Week 2: Water at the bottom of the plant every few days when it's dry

Soil and feeding

Rich, moist soil packed with goodness. These are hungry plants. Dig a hole (or make a mound) and fill it with manure or compost before planting, then feed every week or two once the fruit starts.

Pests and problems

• Slugs & snails: munch seedlings overnight, worst in wet weather

• Go on a slug hunt at dusk with a torch and move them far away
• Sink a jam jar into the soil with a little beer in it - slugs fall in
• Cut the bottom off a plastic bottle and pop it over each young plant, like a mini greenhouse

Harvesting and eating summer squash

Pick them small - patty pans the size of a biscuit, yellow courgettes the length of a pencil. The more you pick, the more you get.

How to eat them: Slice and fry in butter, or halve, stuff with cheese and bake.

Storing summer squash

Keeps about 1 week.

• Keep in the fridge

Slice and freeze for cooking, or grate and freeze for cakes and soups - like courgettes.

Good varieties of summer squash

• Sunburst: Yellow flying-saucer shapes!
• Custard White: White scalloped patty pans.
• Tromboncino: Long, curly fruit on a climbing plant.

Companion planting

Grows well with

• Nasturtiums: nasturtiums bring in bees to pollinate squash flowers
• Sweetcorn: 'three sisters': big leaves shade out weeds under the corn
• Borage: bees for pollinating the flowers

Saving your own summer squash seed

From a ripe fruit in autumn.

1. Bees mix pollen between courgettes, squash and pumpkins, so saved seeds can grow odd-looking fruit - that's half the fun!
2. Scoop the seeds from a fully ripe fruit (courgettes: leave one to grow into a huge marrow first)
3. Wash them, then dry on a plate for 2 weeks
4. Or roast them with a little salt - a tasty snack
5. Seeds from 'F1' varieties (it says on the packet) don't grow the same - save from ordinary ones.

Things to build for summer squash

• Bottle cloches:
• Cold frame:

Where to buy summer squash seeds

Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon

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Summer squash questions

When should I sow summer squash in the UK?

In the UK, sow summer squash indoors from mid April to mid May or outdoors from late May to mid June. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.

When do I plant out summer squash?

Plant summer squash out from late May to late June, once the last frost has passed.

When can I pick summer squash?

Summer squash is ready from early July to late September. Pick them small - patty pans the size of a biscuit, yellow courgettes the length of a pencil. The more you pick, the more you get.

How long do summer squash take to grow?

Roughly 10 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.

Are summer squash easy to grow?

Summer squash are rated 'easy peasy' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.