8 Mini Winter Squash Varieties for a Small Garden

Growing mini winter squash varieties is a great way to enjoy these popular fruits in a garden with limited space. They’re a vegetable that grows well vertically, and a great crop to grow alongside some mini melon varieties or mini pumpkins — their lighter fruits make vertical gardening so much easier!

Mini but incredibly tasty winter squash varieties

From soups and pies to simple roasting recipes, winter squash are a versatile kitchen ingredient. With their tough outer skins, most store well through the winter (hence the name winter squash), providing you with the sweet taste of summer even when it’s cold outside.

Mini winter squash varieties are well known for their heightened sweetness and flavor compared to their larger counterparts. So here are 8 mini winter squash varieties you can grow in your mini garden space this summer!

1. Sweet Dumpling Squash

With a unique white and speckled green patterning, sweet dumpling squashes are a fantastic and unusual squash variety for a small garden or balcony.

As the name suggests, they have a wholesome, sweet flavoring and are perfect for roasting or baking. You can harvest them from September and into October, and they also store well through the winter too.

Fruit weight: 0.5-1 lb

2. Kabocha Squash

Also known as the Japanese squash, the Kabocha squash has a flattened shape, knobbly, dark green skin, and contrasting bright orange flesh.  It doesn’t produce a vine. Instead, its leaves and fruits will grow from a central stem.

It’s a Japanese variety developed from the South American Cucurbita maxima squash species.

Fruit weight: 2-4 lbs.

3. Honeynut Squash

A mini version of the larger butternut squash, honeynut is a winter variety that produces deliciously sweet fruits that are roughly half the size of normal butternut squash. Their skin is a deep golden tan and the flesh is bright orange.

Fruit weight: 1-2 lbs

4. Lakota Squash

Slightly larger than some of the other squash mentioned here, but still smaller than the average winter squash. The Lakota squash is a delicious heirloom variety that has been grown for thousands of years by the Lakota people.

It has a distinctive pear shape and deep orange skin flecked with green stripes. It’s related to the Kabocha squash as it’s also a variety of the Cucurbita maxima squash species.

Fruit weight: 5-8 lbs

5. Butter Bush Squash

A lovely mini variety, butter bush squash fruits are creamy white and resemble the shape of butternut. As its name suggests they produce bushy vines that will usually produce 5 perfectly formed fruits.

Fruit weight: 2-3 lbs

6. Small Wonder Spaghetti Squash

This fantastic mini squash plant can produce up to 15 mini spaghetti squashes. They a bold yellow skin, and are full of wonderful spaghetti-like strands that can be used as a gluten-free pasta alternative. Because of their mini size, the Small Wonder squash is a perfect personal-sized portion.

Fruit weight: 3 lbs

7. Honey Bear Squash

So perfectly formed, they almost look fake! Honey bear squash has a striking, dark green skin and bright orange interior. They’re ideal for roasting and baking into single-serve portions. It’s also an AAS (All-America Selections) award winner.

Fruit weight: 2 lbs

8. Acorn Squash

The acorn squash has a distinct oval/acorn shape with deep ridges and dark green skin. Like the honey bear and kabocha squash, the flesh inside is bright orange. It has a delicious nutty flavoring and is excellent roasted or blended into a soup.

Fruit weight: 1-2 lbs

Can you grow squash vertically?

Yes, it’s definitely possible to add squash plants to your vertical garden. Mini squash varieties are ideal as their smaller fruits can often grow unsupported without damaging the plant.

However, if you notice that your squash fruits are becoming too heavy for the vine, you can create a makeshift sling or hammock to hold any heavy fruit in place. Find out more about supporting heavy fruits in our guide to growing squash vertically.

Tips for growing mini winter squash

Mini winter squash are a fantastic crop to grow in small garden spaces. Here are several tips to make sure you grow lots of tasty mini squash.

• Keep an eye on fruit size, some mini squash varieties can create unusually heavy fruits that may need to be supported with a hammock or sling.
• Make sure you store your winter squash correctly, to ensure they last through the winter.
• Like normal squash plants, mini squash still needs plenty of water and nutrients to grow lots of fruits. Mulching around the base of the plant or at the top of its container is a great way to keep moisture in.

For other tasty crops that you can grow vertically, check out our list of fruits and vegetables that grow vertically.

Featured Image: Image by chuckrkc5873 from Pixabay