Heat Tolerant Squash

Winter Squash

• Winter squash are harvested when their rinds are hard and seeds fully ripe. Determine if a winter squash is ripe by attempting to puncture the rind with your fingernail. If you can't, it is ready to pick. The hard rind of a winter squash allows it to be stored through the winter. There is some confusion about whether or not pumpkins are winter squash or are their own group altogether. According to the University of Illinois Extension, it doesn't matter too much what you call them, winter squash and pumpkins have the same cultivation requirements.

Varieties

• Winter squash belong to three species. Cucurbita pepo varieties include acorn squash, delicata, also called sweet potato squash and spaghetti squash. C. mopschata are the butternut squashes with varieties like Butterbush, Supreme and Zenith. C. maxima varieties include Buttercup, Mooregold and Sweet Mama.

Summer Squash

• Summer squash are picked before they fully ripen. Summer squash has soft rinds and soft, immature seeds. Despite being related to other vining crops, summer squash don't grow on vines, but grow on sprawling bushes. Summer squash are suitable for small gardens, as they take up much less space than does winter varieties.

Varieties

• Perhaps the most well-known summer squash is zucchini. This mild-flavored and versatile squash comes in many varieties including Black Zucchini, Aristocrat and Spineless Beauty. There are also yellow varieties of zucchini like Gold Rush. Yellow crookneck, yellow straight neck and the flattened, scallop squash are also common varieties of summer squash.