Last edited by shiny on 7 Nov 2026. View history

Pattypan Squash

Cucurbita pepo var. clypeata

Also known as scallop squash (en) sunburst squash (en) granny squash (en) custard marrow (en) custard squash (en) cibleme (en) white squash (en) scallopini squash (en) schwoughksie squash (en)

A variety of Cucurbita pepo

How to sow pattypan squash: Direct seed indoors or outdoors

Sun requirement for pattypan squash: Plant in Full Sun

Squash is a genus of herbaceous vines that have large edible orange flowers that mature into gourds or cucurbits. Squash are commonly divided into two main groups: summer and winter. Summer squash have shorter growing times, a bushy growth habit, tender skin, and are quite prolific. Common types include cucumbers, zucchini, and pattypan squash. Winter squash take longer to mature, have a more sprawling growth habit, and produce gourds with thicker skins that can be stored for a few months. Common winter squash are pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn, and delicata. Most squash transplant poorly. If starting from seed indoors, use peat pots that can be directly transplanted into the soil to reduce root disturbance. More growing information is available in individual species entries.

3: plantings
5: harvests
1: seed packet

Growstuff is a free, community-run site for people who grow food. Keep track of what you plant and harvest, find seeds to swap, and see what is growing near you. Join to record your own pattypan squash.

Pattypan squash facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less

32 weeks median lifespan

First harvest expected

8 weeks after planting

Days until maturity

60–70 days median of members' seed packets

Grown for

fruit harvested 5 times

What are growing degree days?

A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.

Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.

For pattypan squash, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 6°C and a shortest growing cycle of 40 days at its best temperature, about 700 growing degree days to a first harvest.

Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your pattypan squash will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.