How to grow Patty Pan Squash

This guide provides everything you need to know about growing Patty Pan Squash, from planting to harvesting.

Patty Pan Squash require rich, well draining soil with plenty of compost mixed in. 

Plant Patty Pan Squash in a full sun position. 

No, Patty Pan Squash are not frost tolerant. 

Space your Patty Pan Squash plants around 60cm apart.  

Squash are best planted in spring once the danger of frost has passed. Sow seeds when the soil has warmed to roughly 20°C. 

If transplanting seedlings, plant out in the early morning or evening and/or on an overcast day. Avoid planting at peak sun times or windy days, this will allow your plants to settle in comfortably and protect them from windburn and sunburn.  

Squash plants are heavy feeders. Feed your Patty Pan Squash regularly with an organic liquid fertiliser throughout the season. You can also top dress the soil around the plants with compost mid way through the growing season to provide additional nutrition and to increase the water holding capacity of the soil. 

You can harvest Patty Pan Squash at any size you prefer, although they are best picked small (smaller than the size of your palm). Harvest regularly, as the more you harvest, the more the plant will produce.

Pests that affect Patty Pan Squash plants include: Aphids, Slug, Snail, Army Worm, Spider Mites, Thrips, Cucumber Beetle, Cutworms, Flea Beetle, Leaf Miner, Squash Bug, Squash Vine Borer, Stink Bugs, 28 Spotted Ladybug. 

Diseases that affect Patty Pan Squash plants include: Leaf Blight and Leaf Spot, Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Fusarium Crown and Foot Rot, Gummy Stem Blight, Verticillium Wilt, Bacterial Wilt, Aster Yellows, Blossom-end Rot, Mosaic Virus, Phytophthora Crown and Root Rot.