Plant Finder

Group/Class:  Winter Squash

Description:

Low maintenance and easy to grow, this selection is perfect for full sun gardens; produces small oblong, tan colored with dark green stripe fruit; sweet flavor, much like sweet potato, great roasted, stuffed, and in soups; blossoms are edible

Edible Qualities

Sugar Loaf Squash is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces tan oblong fruit with dark green stripes and gold flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The fruits have a sweet taste.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Baking
• Freezing

Planting & Growing

Sugar Loaf Squash will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Sugar Loaf Squash is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.