The Cucurbitaceae also called cucurbits or the gourd family, includes cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins. Cucurbits are a great addition to any summer vegetable garden for their productivity. All the cucurbits need rich soil and enough water, it's good to create rich soil and compost based mounds and direct seed these plants. You can also start them indoors, but be sure to transplant them when they are very young outside before they start getting root bound, they don't like having their roots disturbed.
Grow different varieties for different uses, Spaghetti Squash and Pumpkins, for example, store well into winter, so you can be eating from your garden in the middle of winter. Don't forget to roast the seeds, too, they're delicious!
Cucumbers are also a garden favorite, they are delicious fresh, and nothing beats jars of homemade spicy pickles that can be enjoyed throughout the year. We have two kinds of cucumbers, Homemade Pickles Cucumbers and Spacemaster 80 Cucumbers which are perfect for smaller gardens or in containers.
Zucchini and Yellow squash are some of the most productive vegetables you can grow, and are often the first summer vegetables to harvest! For example, the early blossoms of Zucchini, Squash and Pumpkins are also amazing when stuffed, battered and fried – an extra early garden treat in the summer! Try our Squash Blossom Recipe!
Cucurbits have a huge added benefit: they support a diverse population of native bees and honeybees! You'll find Squash Bees in the blossoms all the time, they love sleeping and hanging out in them.
This is your friendly reminder, don't forget to label your seeds when planting in the garden! Young Cucurbits look very similar, so they're hard to distinguish until they start fruiting.
