Vegetable / Warm season
Delicata Winter Squash
Warm-season storage squash beds with room for vines.
Sweet, fine-textured squash with edible skin.
Seed spacing and maturity
- Days to maturity
- 100
- Germination temperature
- 70-95F
- Seed depth
- 1 inches
- Spacing
- 36 inches
- Row spacing
- 60 inches
- Start method
- Either
Frost-date timing
- Indoor start
- 3 weeks before last frost
- Direct sow
- 14 days after last frost
- Transplant
- 14 days after last frost
Action plan
- Can I plant this now?
- Use your local last-frost, first-frost, and soil-temperature checks before treating this crop as plantable today.
- Start indoors or direct sow?
- Direct sow or transplant depending on your soil warmth, bed readiness, and frost-risk plan.
- How much space?
- 36 inches in-row spacing, 60 inches between rows, and 1 inch seed depth.
- Best companions?
- Use crop-family rotation first, then pair with compatible timing, spacing, and canopy size rather than relying on a simple companion chart.
- Common failure modes?
- Avoid late planting where frost arrives before skins harden. Deep, consistent water during vine growth and fruit set. Warm, fertile, well-drained soil with compost.
Is it still worth sowing this year?
Every region this site covers (Texas, North Florida, Central Maryland, New York City and York County, PA) publishes a winter squash planting window, so the answer for this variety is already dated. No other region is covered yet.
- What Texas gardeners can still sow, Delicata Winter Squash included AgriLife lists winter squash for Texas (AgriLife Region III); the page measures that window against this variety's 100 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- North Florida sow-by date for Delicata Winter Squash UF/IFAS lists winter squash for North Florida; the page measures that window against this variety's 100 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- What Central Maryland gardeners can still sow, Delicata Winter Squash included UMD Extension lists winter squash for Central Maryland; the page measures that window against this variety's 100 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- New York City sow-by date for Delicata Winter Squash Cornell CCE lists winter squash for the New York City area; the page measures that window against this variety's 100 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- What York County, PA gardeners can still sow, Delicata Winter Squash included Penn State Extension lists winter squash for York County, Pennsylvania; the page measures that window against this variety's 100 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Deep, consistent water during vine growth and fruit set.
- Soil
- Warm, fertile, well-drained soil with compost.
- Watch
- Avoid late planting where frost arrives before skins harden.
- winter-squash
- cucurbit
- storage
- warm-season
Browse context
- Vegetable Catalog Category collection
- Cucurbit Family Rotation and family context
- Warm Season Seeds Season collection
- Either Seeds Start-method collection
- Beginner-Friendly Seeds Practical trait collection
Related varieties
- Small Sugar Pumpkin Cucurbit family · Warm season · 100 days
- Waltham Butternut Squash Cucurbit family · Warm season · 95 days
- Black-Eyed Susan Aster family · Warm season · 90 days
- Chief Mix Celosia Amaranth family · Warm season · 90 days
- Greek Oregano Mint family · Warm season · 90 days
- Indian Summer Rudbeckia Aster family · Warm season · 90 days
Source: CSU vegetable planting guide