Plant Library

Group/Class:  Winter Squash

Description:

Single serving sized and extremely delicious, this sturdy bush variety is early maturing and high productive; produces many small white fruit with green and gold striping; orange-yellow flesh with a nutty flavor is perfect for roasting and baking

Edible Qualities

Harlequin Acorn Squash is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces small creamy white heart-shaped fruit with dark green stripes and gold flesh which are usually ready for picking from late summer to mid fall. The fruit will often fade to gold over time. The fruits have a delicious taste and a fleshy texture.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Baking

Planting & Growing

Harlequin Acorn Squash will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 3 feet apart. Because of its vigorous growth habit, it may require staking or supplemental support. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.