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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Squash

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  • From: road's end farm <organic101 AT linkny.com>
  • To: ktk2a <ktk2a AT earthlink.net>, Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Squash
  • Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 22:31:43 -0500


On Jan 8, 2006, at 6:36 PM, ktk2a wrote:

<x-tad-smaller>Can anyone give a little advice on how far apart to plant winter squash varieties so as to avoid cross-pollination?</x-tad-smaller>

If you are saving seed, you may need 1/2 mile (so at any rate says my seedsaving book) from any other variety in the same species of winter squash, summer squash, or pumpkin (these are all the same thing at the species level); or other techniques, such as bagging flowers before they open and hand pollinating. Some varieties, however, are actually in different species and won't crosspollinate.

If you're just eating them, or selling the squash for eating purposes, don't worry about it; you can grow them all right next to each other. The effect won't be noticeable unless/until you try to grow a crop from the resulting seed.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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