Spaghetti Squash

Cucurbita pepo

Also known as: Vegetable Spaghetti, Noodle Squash


An oblong, pale yellow winter squash with a hidden trick — once baked or steamed, the flesh separates into long golden strands that scoop out cleanly with a fork, giving you a bowl of vegetable "noodles" in place of the usual mash. Mild in flavour, it takes on whatever it's served with, from pasta sauce to butter and herbs. Fruit runs 20–30cm long and around 1.5–2.5kg, on a trailing vine that carries several fruit through the season. Stores well through winter. Trailing vine — needs room to run.

Days to harvest 90–100 days from sowing
Fruit size Oblong, 20–30cm long, 1.5–2.5kg
Sowing depth 2cm
Germination 6–10 days at soil temperature 21–30°C
Spacing 1m between plants, 1.5m between rows
Aspect Open, sunny position; deep, well-drained soil rich in organic matter
Frost tolerance Sensitive to frost at both ends of the season — sow after last frost, harvest before first frost

Growing notes

A warm, sunny position with plenty of room to run suits it best. Spaghetti squash needs the full warm season to size up its fruit and mature the shell for storage.

Soil preparation: Deeply worked beds with generous well-rotted compost and aged manure. Squash are heavy feeders — build the bed before sowing and top-dress as the vine takes off.

Sowing method: Sow 3–4 seeds in raised mounds spaced 1 metre apart, directly where the plants are to grow, then thin to the two strongest seedlings per mound once true leaves have formed.

Support: Usually left to trail along the ground. A sturdy trellis with fruit slings works if space is tight — the fruit isn't so heavy that it can't be supported off the ground.

Watering & feeding: Deep, consistent watering at the base, especially through fruit set and swell. Overhead watering invites mildew. Side-dress with well-rotted manure or a balanced liquid feed once flowering starts.

Harvest: Ready when the skin has turned a rich, uniform yellow, the stem has started to dry and cork, and the shell is hard enough to resist a fingernail. Cut with a generous length of stem attached to help with storage. Cure in a warm, dry spot for a week or two before storing.

Timing: Around 90–100 days from sowing to harvest.

Key features

  • Flesh separates into spaghetti-like strands when cooked
  • Mild, adaptable flavour A low-carb pasta stand-in
  • Family-sized fruit at 1.5–2.5kg
  • Good keeper — 1–3 months in cool, dry storage
  • Reliable cropper in a warm, long summer

Short season tips


Direct sow into warm ground from mid-spring to early summer once frost risk has passed. In Coonabarabran and similar inland zones, that means mid-November onwards. If time is tight, start seed indoors in large pots 3–4 weeks before transplanting — squash resent root disturbance, so handle carefully and move on with the root ball intact. A black weed mat under the vine warms the soil and buys extra days at both ends of the season.

  • Spring
  • Summer

Annual

  • Corn, climbing beans, nasturtium, borage, marigold
  • Potatoes, other cucurbits within cross-pollination distance if saving seed


An unusual winter squash of Chinese origin, taken up and developed commercially in Japan in the 1930s before being released to Western gardeners under the name Vegetable Spaghetti in the same decade. Its trick of unravelling into pasta-like strands under heat made it a novelty at first and a kitchen staple since — one of the few winter squash grown as much for texture as for flavour.