Squash

Species name: Cucurbita pepo

All squash are indigenous to the Americas and have been cultivated for more than 10,000 years. Squash crops were cultivated by the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayans in Latin America usually alongside corn and bean crops. This type of planting is called companion planting, because these three crops benefit from growing together. The corn provides a tower for the climbing beans, eliminating a need for poles. The beans enrich the soil with nitrogen (under Pods and Seeds) and the low-growing squash plants cover the soil bed, blocking the sunlight and preventing the growth of unwanted weeds. The broad leaves of the squash plant also provide shade, keeping the topsoil cool and moist, and the spiny hairs of the squash vine help keep pests away.