I grew a six foot long gourd from this pot.

Here is a link that might be useful: long gourd

I grew acorn squash last year in +/- 30 gallon plastic construction tubs (used for mixing cement, etc). Drill plenty of holes in the tubs and elevate on bricks to aid the drainage and use a good soil mix that won't get too compacted (VERY important!). I over-planted and started with 3 per pot but thinned later to 2 per. The plants turned out to be 2 vining and 2 semi-bush, I think. That's probably because the seeds were saved from a squash I bought for eating. This year I'm going to try purchased seed of a semi-bush variety. I'd actually have preferred a true vining type to take advantage of the trellissing but the variety is limited here in Holland. For growing in pots I don't think you could get more than 1 per pot of the true bush types because they'd block each others' light too much. Maybe someone else can help with that info.

I placed the pots about 2-3 feet from a fence and leaned 4 x 6 foot plain metal garden-fence trellis panels from the base of the pot to the stockade fence. The holes in the trellis were about 6 inches square. As the squash or pumpkin grows you will need to gently guide the vines toward the trellis and upwards. Squash aren't natural climbers even though they do put out anchor tendrils (suckers?) that will twine around the trellis. Use either coated wire, clips or fabric to loosly tie the vines up. The thicker the anchors the better, as the stalks are hollow and break or bend easily. This year I found some thick foam coated wire specially for tying up plants and it should work well. Last year I used plastic C clips and moved them as needed to areas that needed support. The suckers will help anchor the vines but aren't super strong so you can't rely on them alone to keep the plant on the trellis, especially once the fruit gets bigger.

One of the plants really took off and ended up growing along the top of the stockade fence, which was fine with me! I didn't bother tying it up a lot at that point, just looped it around so it would stay put.

My plants last year didn't produce a whole lot. I had trouble with blossom end rot and later from mildew. But when the fruits did start to form I gently guided them through the holes of the trellis so that they hung on the back side of it. So the vines and leaves were on the outside of the trellis and the fruit had plenty of room to grow on the fence side.

The bushier plants didn'd need any support until later in the summer and I used some 1.5 foot high shelving units from a small portable greenhouse to support the short vines with fruit that grew over the side of the pots. Anything about the same height as the pot should work, like a plastic deck chair or something. I just was afraid that the vine would break if it just hung over the side with a squash dangling in mid-air.

It was great fun and a good experiment, growing these. We made a big event out of eating the 2 biggest squash and then enjoyed the little ones in a nice stir-fry.... :^D

Hope you have as much fun.

Susanne

For bush type varieties of summer/yellow squash and bush type zucchini, do you really need a container as big as 30 gallons?

You said you found construction tubs. Do you know where you can acquire these? Is it possible to ask at construction sites and will they willingly give them to you? If so, where would I find these, and how would I go about acquiring them via a construction site?

Maybe some of the more experienced growers can verify or negate this, but my thought is that container size shouldn't be different for bush or vine types. They both have similar root systems (I think) and the main difference is just the sprawl of the plants' above-ground parts.

I bought the tubs at a local home supply store and they're very common here in Holland. I would imagine you could get something similar at any Lowe's or Home Depot. Look in the area where they sell cement mix and mortar. There should be various sizes of mixing containers available.

Happy hunting!

The earthbox is a commercial gardening container system with about a 15 gallon soil area.

Their recommendations are 2 to 4 plants in potting mix for this area + 2 cups of balanced fertilizer. See link below:

http://www.earthbox.com/pdf/replant_kit_instructions.pdf

Hi all,

I have a story: In a neglected smallish garden pot filled with last years' soil in my back yard I found some vine-y thing. My young daughter asked me what that might be growing, and I told her I don't know, why don't we find out? My guess from the leaves were a rogue cucumber or squash, and we just let it go and watched, and it trailed all over the back patio. At the end of the season we had ONE perfect round pumpkin, about 10 inches across. So in containers it seems possible! (wonder where that seed came from?)