Acorn Squash

Cucurbita pepo 'Acorn'

vegetable

Acorn squash is a small, ribbed winter squash shaped like its namesake, with a hard dark-green shell and sweet, fine-grained yellow-orange flesh that is excellent halved and baked. The vigorous vines bear several fruit each and mature in about 80 to 100 days, and unlike most winter squash, acorn does not improve with long curing and is ready to eat at harvest.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Nasturtium — Trap crop that lures squash bugs and aphids
• Borage — Attracts pollinators that set the fruit
• Radishes — May help deter squash beetles
• Beans — Fix nitrogen in a three-sisters planting

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Squash bug →

  Scout for and crush egg clusters on leaf undersides; row cover until bloom

• Squash vine borer →

  Wrap or mound soil over the lower stem and monitor for the moth in early summer

• Powdery mildew →

  Space for airflow, water at the base, and choose resistant types

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest when the rind is hard enough to resist a fingernail and the ground spot has turned from yellow to orange, with a dry, corky stem, cutting the fruit with an inch or two of stem attached. Acorn squash is best eaten within a month or two and, unlike thicker-skinned winter squash, should not be cured at high heat, which shortens its storage life; keep it cool and dry.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Acorn squash is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium, and its orange flesh supplies beta-carotene, an antioxidant the body converts to vitamin A, all at modest calories.