How to Plant and Grow Banana Squash

Cucurbita maxima

Banana squash is a wonder of the vegetable garden.

They look like oversized pink or blue bananas, weigh 60 pounds or more, and contain sweet flesh that is perfect for roasting, baking, or turning into warming autumn or winter soups.

So, if you want to get a lot of bang for your buck this season, you should plant and grow banana squash!

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With large to extra-large fruits that grow on long, vining plants, these summer annuals thrive in gardens where there is plenty of room for them to sprawl.

On the rare occasions that gardeners complain about banana squash, it’s usually a humble brag – because the fruits are so abundant that just one can fill up most of a freezer.

In our guide to growing winter squash, we cover how to grow these long-keeping cucurbits. This article focuses on banana squash specifically.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ll cover:

Banana squash fruits are generally around 18 to 24 inches long, and about four to five inches wide, making them easy to slice up and transform into delicious roasted veggies, soups, or pies.

The fruits have pink or blue skin, and yellowish-orange to orange flesh that has a smooth texture. In fact, they are similar to butternut squash in both taste and texture.

These vining plants are types of Cucurbita maxima, which originated in South America.

Other types derived from the same species include Hubbard, turban, buttercup, and kabocha squash.

Banana squash are also related to pumpkins (C. pepo) and other winter squash such as ‘Delicata,’ ‘Butterkin,’ calabaza, and spaghetti squash – as well as summer varieties like zucchini!

Although they are called winter squash, don’t try growing them during the cold months. These vegetables are frost tender, and need a long stretch of warm weather to grow and mature.

They require 100 days or more to produce a crop and can be grown as annuals in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 11.

How to Sow

When planning your garden, perhaps with the help of a gardening journal, allow room for vines that are 15 feet long or more and two to three feet wide.

Here’s how to proceed:

Direct Sowing

If you want to sow seeds directly into the garden:

1. Start by removing any weeds or dead vegetation in the growing area, then mix a few shovels of compost into the soil.
2. Mound up the soil in the middle of the growing area.
3. Sow two to three seeds an inch deep in the mound.
4. Water right after sowing, and irrigate daily until germination, which should happen in five to 10 days.
5. After germination, thin to one to two seedlings per planting, removing the weakest seedlings from each mound.

When young plants become established, decrease irrigation to maintenance levels.

Starting Indoors

Start seeds indoors two to four weeks before the last spring frost is an option if you have a short growing season.

These plants don’t really enjoy being transplanted, so if you can, it’s best to direct-sow.

You’ll need the following supplies: seeds, seed starting growing medium, and biodegradable seed starting pots or trays. You may also need a heat mat.

1. Start by filling the pots with moist growing medium.
2. Sow a single seed one inch deep in the center of each pot.
3. Situate the pots near a window where seedlings will receive six to eight hours of direct sunlight, or place them under a grow lamp.
4. Keep the pots at a temperature of 70 to 95°F, using a heat mat if necessary.
5. Water as needed to keep the growing medium moist, but not waterlogged, and expect germination in five to 10 days.

After germination, keep the growing medium moist but not soggy. After the last frost date has passed, harden off the seedlings before transplanting.

Transplanting

Clear the growing area of weeds and spent vegetation ahead of transplanting the seedlings.

1. Use a hori hori or a trowel to dig a hole in the garden soil that is twice as wide and deep as the nursery pot.
2. If seedlings are in biodegradable pots, remove the rim of the pot prior to inserting the transplant into the hole.
3. For those grown in plastic pots, remove the plant from the pot gently, taking care not to disturb the roots, then insert the root ball into the hole.
4. Backfill with soil, covering only the root ball.
5. Water the plants at the soil level. In the absence of rain, water daily for one to two weeks as the transplants become established.

How to Grow

Let’s take a closer look at how to keep these veggies happy.

Light

The vines require full sun to successfully produce fruits. That means you need to choose a spot in the garden that receives a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight per day. More is better.

Soil

Banana squash prefers loamy garden soil and will flourish in a pH range of 5.8 to 6.8. It’s a good idea to work in some compost before planting.

The soil absolutely must be well-draining. Standing water or oversaturated soil will lead to rot.

If your garden has predominantly clay soil, you may want to consider using raised beds.

Water

When plants are established, water your patch infrequently but deeply, increasing water as temperatures rise and when the days are sunny.

Fertilizing

Compost is the best fertilizer for these plants so start by working some well-rotted compost into the soil before sowing or transplanting.

Once or twice during the growing season, you can also work a few handfuls of compost into the soil near the plant’s roots to add nutrients.

Cultivars to Select

When choosing a banana squash variety for your garden, be sure to pick one that fits the number of days in your growing season – as well as one that you will have no trouble carrying to your kitchen!

Here are some of the most popular types:

Georgia Candy Roaster

Included on the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity’s Ark of Taste, ‘Georgia Candy Roaster’ is an heirloom with a distinctive history.

Look for seeds from sellers that specialize in heirlooms and plan for at least 112 days to maturity.

Guatemalan Blue

With blueish-gray skin and orange flesh, ‘Guatemalan Blue’ reaches 15 to 20 inches long and weighs five to eight pounds at maturity. 

Harvest ‘Guatemalan Blue’ in 90 to 110 days after sowing, and expect a smooth texture and fruity flavor.

‘Guatemalan Blue’

You can find ‘Guatemalan Blue’ seeds in a variety of packet sizes from True Leaf Market.

North Georgia Candy Roaster

Smaller than the other candy roaster described here, ‘North Georgia Candy Roaster’ reaches 18 inches long and weighs eight to 15 pounds.

Fruits are pink with blue tips and contain orange flesh that has a smooth texture and a delicious flavor. It is especially loved for pie filling.

Plan for about 100 days to maturity.

‘North Georgia Candy Roaster’

Pick up packets of 10 or 30 ‘North Georgia Candy Roaster’ seeds from the Tomorrow Seeds Store via Amazon.

Pink Banana

‘Pink Banana’ produces fruits that reach 18 to 24 inches long and weigh 10 to 50 pounds.

These are a beautiful salmon color with yellowish orange flesh that has a medium dry texture and sweet flavor.

‘Pink Banana’ will be ready to harvest in 100 to 120 days.

‘Pink Banana’

Purchase ‘Pink Banana’ seeds in packets of eight from Botanical Interests.

Pests and Disease

A maintenance task you’ll want to perform fairly regularly is checking for signs of pests or disease. Here’s what you’ll need to look for:

Herbivores

Depending on your location, a wide number of herbivorous mammals might like to snack on your banana squash plants, while the most common are deer and rabbits.

To keep deer out of your garden, use a tall fence.

As for rabbits, the fence need not be tall, but the fence mesh must be small.

Find tips for keeping rabbits out of the garden here.

Insects

Aphids can often be found lurking on the stems and undersides of the leaves.

Start by using a hose to blast them off with a strong jet of water. Repeat this strategy once a week and after a few weeks, the aphids should be gone.

Our guide to controlling aphids as more tips.

If your plants are wilting, check for squash bugs, a type of true bug that feeds on banana squash plants, damaging and eventually killing them if left uncontrolled.

Pick off and kill adult and nymph bugs, and destroy their eggs, which are usually found on the undersides of the leaves.

Whiteflies tend to be most noticeable when they fly away from plants in a white swarm.

Disease

Diseases on banana squash plants are fairly common. Here are a few to watch out for:

This isn’t caused by a pathogen, it’s a physiological issue related to water and calcium uptake.

Read our guide to blossom-end rot in zucchini to learn more.

Downy mildew and powdery mildew are common fungal diseases that can appear during damp, humid conditions.

The former causes fuzzy leaves and angular, yellow or light green spots on the foliage.

If it looks like someone took a bag of flour and sprinkled it on your squash foliage, your plant may be suffering from powdery mildew.

Very common in the vegetable garden, it’s pretty easy to control and typically doesn’t do a lot of damage.

Avoid watering from overhead and ensure that there is sufficient airflow between and around the vines to avoid fungal issues.

Harvesting

The fruits will gradually change color as they mature and size up. But just because they look like the right size and color on the outside doesn’t mean they are necessarily ready for harvest!

Before you harvest, check the days to maturity of your chosen variety.

Then count forward from your sowing or transplanting date – this is your estimated harvest time, which can range from 90 to 120 days, depending on the variety.

When enough time has passed for the fruits to mature and they have grown to the expected size, keep your eye on the vines and stems – they will start drying out and turning brown.

Allow the banana squash to cure in the sun for a week before storing them in a cool location.

Preserving

Want to preserve your harvest? Your options include cool storage, freezing, and dehydrating.

Banana squash can be stored for approximately six months in cool storage. What makes cool storage? A temperature of 50 to 60°F and a relative humidity of 50 to 70 percent.

An unheated basement or garage, or even a root cellar may work for you!

If you want to freeze the flesh, it’s best to cook it until soft, then store it in containers in the freezer. It will keep this way for up to a year.

Learn more about how to dehydrate garden produce here.

Cooking Ideas

You can use banana squash as a substitute in any recipe that calls for pumpkin or butternut – and most of those that call for sweet potatoes.

Why not start with a soup? Simply puree the cooked flesh, add water or broth until it achieves the desired consistency, and flavor with sage and hot peppers.

If you’re in the mood for a guilty pleasure, why not make some oven baked fries? Just follow this recipe for butternut squash oven fries on our sister site, Foodal.

Have a hankering for something sweet?

How about some spiced pecan pumpkin muffins, made with banana squash instead of pumpkin? Use this recipe, also on Foodal.

Boatloads of Banana Squash

You’re now equipped with the knowledge to grow these mammoth vegetables in your own backyard garden, small farm, or community garden.

Which type will you grow? Are you aiming for some super large banana squash or hoping to keep your harvest manageable? Let us know in the comments section below, and if you have any remaining questions, you can ask them there as well!

Need more tips for growing squash in your vegetable garden? We have more reading for you right here: