Would garlic mind squash?

[Tilde]

So I'm going to plant the rest of my garlic in the "north garden" which is a ways north of me. I'll be able to visit about once a month, otherwise depending on the homeowners to keep an eye and water on it.

Right now the plan is throw some cardboard down, dirt down, plant bulbs, then mulch.

But I got some volunteer pumpkins in my front yard that got me wondering -what if I grow some squash or zukes in there this spring? Start some plants this week and transplant in a few weeks when they're big enough and we're past our frost date (Jan 30)? Would the garlic mind?

[rainbowgardener]

had to think that one through a bit. I would guess the issue would be that squash and pumpkin vines get very big with big leaves. If the garlic plants got buried under all those leaves and couldn't get any sun, they would mind. If you had a way to keep them separate then it would probably be ok.

But just because you are past your last frost date (geez! Jan 30! we are in the depths of winter then), doesn't mean it is warm enough for squash. They are the warmest of the warm weather crops and like the soil to be all nicely warmed up for them, like 70 degrees or so (soil temp).

And you don't want to plant your squash seeds too far in advance of when you can put them in your garden - they germinate fast and grow fast.

I can imagine garlic being a crop you can plant and ignore for a month. Not so much the squash, unless you really can rely on the homeowners to keep it weeded, watered, watch out for pests and diseases, etc.

[Tilde]

Yeah, that's the hard part. I'm thinking (even though they are north of me, I think their last frost date is actually 15 Feb):

Dec 24: Plant garlic already, darn poor cloves. NORTH

Jan 1: start squash plants SOUTH (me)

Jan 30: xplant to big container when they are a couple inches high SOUTH (me)

Feb 28-Mar 15: xplant to garlic area once the garlic is at least a foot and a half tall and squash plants are well-established (me move them NORTH)

I figure if I grow the squash plants big and hardy enough and visit once a month that should be enough to do pest control (there are a lot of lizards up there, good garden pest eradicators) .

I dunno. I'm just trying to cram as much food in as small amount of space available as possible.

[rainbowgardener]

Not sure I'm with the time line. I would think plant squash seeds (with bottom heat) Jan 1. Transplant to larger pots when the plants are 3" high, Jan 15! and then what?

By end of Feb, squash in good conditions would be pretty huge, still a lot bigger than the garlic, which is a much slower grower.

[Tilde]

Put them in a five gal bucket until final north xplant ?

[jal_ut]

You can plant the squash seed where it will grow, on the day of last frost. It will do fine. It will likely do better than starting it in a pot. IMO

[jal_ut]

Squash is a large plant with a very extensive root system. The roots go very deep too. Be careful with the cardboard. I would not have any cardboard under the squash. You do not want to create a barrier to the squash plants roots. Let them go down.

[Tilde]

Well my reason for tending seedslings here and xplanting it is because the tending when its young is what it needs at the start. Hence the put it in a 5 gal so it gets a lot bigger.

Maybe I can dig a hole next to the garlic bed for the squash/roots - then just string the vines out as a living mulch. Hrm.

[jal_ut]

Ya, I skirted your question: Would Garlic Mind?

I think that if you had the garlic growing six weeks before planting the squash, it would probably do OK. There will be some competition though when the squash gets going.

What kind of squash are you thinking about? Zucchini grows quickly and needs to be picked once a week or more often if you want the small tender fruit. Yellow crookneck the same. Both of these though are bush types so wouldn't take up so much room.

Winter squash and pumpkins are vining and go wild, sometimes with vines exceeding 20 feet. Butternuts and acorns are vining too. If you plant some of the winter varieties you would get an awesome harvest, and would only need to harvest at the end of season.

I like all squash, but think that for the ultimate squash flavor I like the Hubbard. The fruits get large too.

Well here you are planting and its 7° here. No planting for me until April. Have fun.