How to Grow Winter Squash: Growing Guide to Planting, Care & Harvest

Cucurbita maxima

Growing calendar

Typical timing for central Japan (Kanto region). Shift it for your own climate, and record your actual dates.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow / plantGrowingHarvest

Guides

Common problems

Start from what you can see on the plant.

Wilting Yellow leaves Leaves dying White powder Leaf spots Fruit problems Poor growth

Varieties (221)

221 winter squash varieties have their own page, with days to maturity, growth habit, traits and uses. Listed by country: United States 219, United Kingdom 2.

Browse by growth habit

Vining 166 Semi-bush 2 Bush 39

Akehime Big Max Bush Buttercup Cushaw White Frisco Butternut Hasta La Pasta Kuribo North Faulkland Island Potimarron Small Wonder Sweet REBA Triamble

See all 221 winter squash varieties

Pests and diseases (43)

Problems recorded for this plant, most serious first.

Powdery Mildew

MajorDisease

White patches appear scattered on the upper leaf surface at first, then the whole leaf is coated in a white powder. Leaves later yellow, brown and die back, and reduced photosynthesis cuts growth and yield.

Cucurbit Leaf Beetle

MajorPest

Circular and arc-shaped feeding scars, as if drawn with a compass, line the leaves. On young seedlings the leaves can be eaten away entirely, badly setting back growth.

Watermelon Mosaic Virus

MajorDisease

Leaves show a yellow-green mosaic, crinkle and stay small. Vine extension is poor and fruit shows faint color mottling and deformity.

Zucchini Yellow Mosaic

MajorDisease

Strong yellow mottled mosaic appears on the leaves, which become narrow and shredded in shape. Fruit is knobbly and lumpy, twisted and bent.

Vine Overgrowth

CommonDisorder

Leaves grow large and dark green and the vines keep running vigorously, but no flowers or fruit set. In sweet potato the tubers fail to bulk up.

Late Blight Gummy Stem Blight Bacterial Wilt Cucumber Mosaic Virus Sclerotinia Rot Black Spot Southern Blight Anthracnose Fusarium Wilt of Cucurbits Damping-off Bacterial Soft Rot Root Rot Root-knot Nematode Gray Mold Bacterial Spot Leaf Spot Downy Mildew Ring RotChoanephora RotAlternaria RotFusarium Fruit RotPhomopsis Root RotMosaic DiseaseBacterial Fruit SpotPlant-parasitic NematodesWhite Leaf SpotFusarium Wilt and Damping-offPink RootCottony LeakBacterial RotBacterial Brown SpotAngular Leaf SpotStorage Fruit RotRhizopus Soft RotBacterial Soft RotYellow Leaf Curl DisorderAlternaria Black SpotBlack Dot Root Rot

Written byYasuGrowing vegetables and fruit in Chiba, Japan, and building Gadenin. Corrections are welcome. 15 years of growing.