Vegetable Spaghetti

[Allan23]

Has anyone tried planting Vegetable Spaghetti? I was surprised when I first heard about it; it sounds kind of strange.

If anyone has tried it, I would be interested in hearing if it tastes anything like Spaghetti and if it is easy to grow.

Thanks!

[rainbowgardener]

Spaghetti squash is relatively easy to grow. The "meat" of the squash comes apart in to spaghetti like strands. They have some similarity to spaghetti (which after all doesn't have a whole lot of taste of its own anyway), but a different texture. It is less dense than pasta, more delicate.

[Allan23]

Spaghetti squash is relatively easy to grow. The "meat" of the squash comes apart in to spaghetti like strands. They have some similarity to spaghetti (which after all doesn't have a whole lot of taste of its own anyway), but a different texture. It is less dense than pasta, more delicate.

Ok. Thanks for the info! It sounds neat.

[LA47]

I think the Spaghetti squash has a little sweeter taste and I find I like it better if I use a little extra spice in the sauce.

[PunkRotten]

The vines need a lot of room. They can stretch out a good 10 feet maybe even more.

[Allan23]

I think the Spaghetti squash has a little sweeter taste and I find I like it better if I use a little extra spice in the sauce.

It will be neat to try. I like Spaghetti, but I am not a big fan of squash in general.

The vines need a lot of room. They can stretch out a good 10 feet maybe even more.

That's a long ways! Thanks everyone for the help. I appreciate it.

[sepeters]

try it with a strong pesto, the basil covers the sweetness nicely

[applestar]

I believe it's a C. pepo and susceptible to squash vine borers (SVB's) but haven't tried growing them myself. Those of you who have grown Spaghetti Squash, what was your experience?

[Bobberman]

I had a picture that the local paper took of me 20 years ago and the spegetti squash growing up over my peach tree about 8 feet high. The sqash were hanging all over the tree I wish I could post it! I like to eat the spegetti squash cooked in the micro wave with butter and garlic power! It is fantastic! you can bake it also! half at a time! It has a taste like no other squash! The vines usually have about 4 or more on a long vine You have to wait till they are ripe or finished growing! The ones you can buy in the store may be good to try to see if you like them but butter is the best on them!

[PunkRotten]

AS, I grew a single vine last year that I did not care for very well. I got 1 ripe Squash out of it but if taken care of I would have got more. The vine was afflicted with powdery mildew. Since I have little experience with squash I have not had trouble with the SVB. But I plan to grow Bush Buttercup squash and maybe Jack Be Little Pumpkins this year so we will see. I am actually more worried about powdery mildew.

[sepeters]

I used to grow it when I had more space. It grew extremely well in my climate and could be direct seeded in the fall or spring and would produce early and late, having a very short period of dormancy in the coldest part of winter and a significantly longer one during the hottest parts of summer. Winter squash like their soil to have a pH around 6. I'd give it it's own bed; if it doesn't have enough space and cannot climb or crawl it will stop growing, bloom while it is immature, make a few small fruit, abort them before they are ripe and then die.

I always had a problem with SVB. It's hard to kill them because the squash grows so thick, dense and spreads out, making it difficult to coat all the leaves with the neem oil. It's pretty hardy, so you can climb around in there and try, but it is not pleasant. The beetles mostly come in spring and summer here, so I would plant in late summer so I could treat it for bugs while it was small and then pulled up the mature plants when the beetles came back. I've never had my squash get mildew, but I've successfully treated other plants infected with it using neem oil.

If you know you will need to treat it for SVB or powdery mildew you could try putting a sturdy trellis or small sections of chain link fence in the bed. You'd have to support the squash as they grew, but you'd be able to access the vines and squash more easily to harvest and spray. If you do use the neem oil make sure you are properly diluting it and go easy on the applications; it can wilt the squash leaves if it's over applied.