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Old October 31, 2011   #9
Elizabeth
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: San Diego Coastal - Zone 10b
Posts: 204
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materlyr,

You can grow most squash in containers, if the container is big enough. 18 gallon with a trellis sounds perfect. I would probably put 3 of that variety in one pot. In my experience this variety has leaves on the small side for a squash so they should be fine with buddies, especially since you are using a trellis. You will have to train it up the trellis and will have to tie it on in a few places so it doesn't slump.

I know Temecula gets pretty warm in the summer and sun beating on the sides of pots can really fry roots. If you bunch a few pots together so they shade each other or use a smartpot or wood that doesn't hold heat the same as ceramic or plastic you should be fine. Using a inner pot inside of a decorative one also helps (though you would loose valuable root space) - anything to keep the soil from heating up too much in the pot. The vines probably won't be leafy enough near the pot as the summer gets hot to do the shading for you.

You should be sure to ask the seller if they grew other varieties nearby. If they did, your saved seeds from the squash may not come out as you expected. Squash are fairly promiscuous as a rule - if any other squash variety is nearby they are perfectly willing to accept pollen from most of them and you can get some pretty funky, and/or fairly blah ones with uncontrolled crossing. When people save squash seeds there is a certain protocol to follow during pollination to be sure there isn't any unintended crossing. When I had more space (we used to live in Ramona) I saved seeds from a squash that wasn't protected during pollination just for fun. I mostly got these weird and colorful things that looked nothing like the squash I had grown and tasted like wet cardboard.

I got the the Sweet Dumpling I grew this year in a patio container from Baker Creek Seeds, You may want to check their site and see if it looks like the one you had. I haven't eaten any yet as they haven't rested long enough - winter squash just harvested isn't usually as good as ones that have been stored for a couple of months and I harvested just recently.
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Elizabeth

If I'm going to water and care for a plant it had better give me food, flowers or shade.
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