[Elaine G]

I have a bed 8ft x 6ft which I have saved for squash. Can I plant 8 squash in there? Was planning on a 3-2-3 formation. Would that be too crowded. They are butternuts and autumn crown. No giant pumpkins! Also planning on planting through weed suppressing membrane if that makes a difference.
Thanks
Elaine

[JayG]

Good article about growing Autumn Crown HERE

As you will see, not good news regarding spacing - really only room for 2 plants in an 8X6' bed, although you could plant them closer together if you are able to let them rampage across neighbouring areas so they're not competing with each other for light and air.

Another possibility is to train them to grow upwards on trellis, wires or netting, although I think 8 would still be pushing it somewhat in that space.

[mumofstig]

I have a bed 8ft x 6ft which I have saved for squash. Can I plant 8 squash in there?

I grow 6 in a bed that size and it, and the path alongside, is a riot of stems by the end of the season  Make sure to put in a cane to mark each root,for watering/feeding, while you can still see them.
Otherwise, once they get going there's no chance of finding them again.....
 

[Nobbie]

That’s only the size of a kitchen cabinet door for each plant unless they can scramble over other beds. I’ve planted a row of 6 a metre apart each, but they are next to early potato and onion beds and can spread over them and the paths once they are cropped.

[jambop]

I have a 7m x 1.5m bed and it has two potimarron and two butternut in it . I think you are way out in your assessment of how many you can get in a bed which is about one third the size. But hey maybe you are right and they will grow OK in that area... just because the accepted rule says you need a bed of is a certain size does not make it right...  let us know how it goes it will certainly change my thinking if it works out !

[Mr Rotavator]

I've been following some (lots) of Charles Dowding's methods this year and he states a distance of 60cm / 2' between plants!

[PhilConnors]

I feel your pain. FOMO always leads to cramming stuff in. I sometimes take a view that I am prepared to cannibalise half the plants but not the whole lot so in this instance would be tempted to split your area into 2 and then plant pretty normally in half and cram in the other, that way you dont risk everything but you still get the majority of the plants in the ground. If you do cram then then they'll need a lot of feeding and watering.

[Gleavo]

I basically wait until everything else is in and then inter-plant them with stuff I know they won't grow over -  mainly my beans and sweetcorn - it's kind of a messy 'three-sisters' method but always works out ok - I generally plant about 10-12 plants but always about 2-3 foot apart...

[jambop]

I've been following some (lots) of Charles Dowding's methods this year and he states a distance of 60cm / 2' between plants!

I would never argue with "the guru" but where the distance may be ok how much room do they need foliage wise? answer on hell of a lot I had two butternuts and two pumpkins growing in a bed about 3m x 2m last year and they were all over the place. I respect the 60cm spacing for the plants but they will outgrow the space you are giving them.

[Mr Rotavator]

I've been following some (lots) of Charles Dowding's methods this year and he states a distance of 60cm / 2' between plants!

I would never argue with "the guru" but where the distance may be ok how much room do they need foliage wise? answer on hell of a lot I had two butternuts and two pumpkins growing in a bed about 3m x 2m last year and they were all over the place. I respect the 60cm spacing for the plants but they will outgrow the space you are giving them.

That's what I was thinking. I suspect it was a typo.

[al78]

I have planted two Gem squash in my 2' x 8' greenhouse bed, and I am going to have to train them to use the vertical dimension very soon, they have just reached the point where they are starting to grow rapidly and sprawl. You might get away with it but expect the stems to be all over the place as the summer goes on. It wil be good for suppresing weeds though.

[JayG]

I've been following some (lots) of Charles Dowding's methods this year and he states a distance of 60cm / 2' between plants!

If he means 2' between plants in all directions, that simply wouldn't work - the stems bear the fruits and can easily reach 10-15 feet, each plant usually producing 2 or more separate stems - no stems, no fruits!

You can of course train the stems Catherine wheel style to make them a bit tidier, but they still take up a lot of space.

[mumofstig]

Often American sites advise  2ft apart in the row - BUT 5ft between the rows.

[Mr Rotavator]

After looking at ten sources (seed suppliers, Charles Dowding and online magazine sites) the range of spacing is from 0.6m - 1.5m (2' - 5'), with a mean of 1m (3'8"). Imperial measurements are rounded.

My beds are 5m x 1.2m so I'm going for 0.8m between plants across the bed and 1.0m between the plants down the bed. I have 0.4m wide paths each side of the bed so there is a little more room for the plants to spread out. I will mark the plants with a cane for watering.

[mumofstig]

To be fair, distance between plants really does depend on the variety you are growing.
Some squash plants don't grow very big eg Acorn squash, but others grow into huge plants, like Atlantic Giant and Blue Hubbard .
So you really need to choose your varieties carefully if you plan to grow them close together Good luck!