Early Bulam Korean Summer Squash Seeds - Avocado-Shaped Squash

Bring a Korean kitchen-garden favorite to your summer harvest with Early Bulam squash. Often called avocado squash for its oval shape, it develops glossy light-green skin and tender, mild flesh when picked young. Gather a few fresh fruits for a quick sauté, a vegetable stir-fry, or savory Korean-style squash pancakes.

Choose your seed quantity

This listing is for seeds to plant, not live plants or harvested squash. Choose:

• 10 seeds
• 25 seeds
• 100 seeds

Important: treated seed

These seeds are listed as treated with Thiram. They are for planting only. Do not eat the seeds, feed them to animals, or use them for sprouts or microgreens. Keep seeds away from children, pets, food, and feed. Follow the seed packet's treatment label for handling, protective equipment, planting, storage, and disposal, and wash hands after handling.

Variety details

• Variety: Early Bulam
• Crop: Korean summer squash, grown as a warm-season annual
• Fruit: Oval, avocado-shaped squash with glossy light-green skin
• Texture and flavor: Tender and mild when harvested young
• Approximate harvest size: 5–6 inches long and about 4 inches across; pick smaller if preferred
• Approximate fruit weight: Around 14 oz, depending on harvest stage and conditions
• Growth habit: Vigorous vines that can spread or be trained onto sturdy support
• Light: Full sun
• Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil with consistent moisture

The avocado nickname describes the shape, not an avocado flavor or relationship. Fruit size, appearance, and productivity vary with growing conditions.

When to sow

Direct sow after frost danger has passed and the soil is reliably warm. For an earlier start, sow indoors in individual pots approximately 3–4 weeks before your intended transplant date. Transplant young seedlings carefully and acclimate them gradually to outdoor conditions.

In frost-free climates, follow your local squash planting calendar and consider heavy rainfall, extreme heat, and pest pressure. Allow a suitable warm growing season rather than assuming equal performance year-round.

Sowing and spacing

1. Choose a sunny site and prepare fertile soil with good drainage.
2. Sow approximately 1 inch deep and water gently.
3. Keep the seedbed evenly moist without saturating it.
4. Allow approximately 3–4 feet between planting stations, with additional room where vines will sprawl.
5. Thin to strong seedlings without crowding; snip unwanted seedlings rather than disturbing nearby roots.

Install supports early if growing vertically. Use a sturdy trellis, guide young vines gently, and support developing fruit if needed. Small containers are not a good fit for vigorous squash vines.

Care and pollination

• Water consistently at the root zone, especially during flowering and fruit development.
• Mulch around established plants while keeping material away from stems.
• Feed according to soil needs and fertilizer label directions.
• Allow pollinating insects access to blooms; do not assume fruit will set without pollination.
• Inspect regularly for squash bugs, cucumber beetles, vine damage, and leaf disease.

For greenhouse growing, provide ventilation, space, and a suitable pollination plan. Male flowers may appear before female flowers, and not every blossom will produce a fruit.

Harvesting young squash

Check fruits frequently after flowering. Under favorable conditions, young squash may reach picking size about 8 days after a successfully pollinated flower, but this is not 8 days from sowing and is not a guaranteed harvest interval.

The earlier listing estimated approximately 65–70 days to maturity; actual first harvest depends on temperature, planting method, pollination, and plant health. Judge readiness by tender skin and suitable fruit size rather than the calendar alone.

Cut the individual fruit stem with clean pruners rather than pulling on the vine. Pick regularly before skin hardens and seeds become coarse. Do not leave summer squash on the plant to develop like a storage pumpkin.

In the kitchen

Wash harvested squash thoroughly. Slice for sautéing, stir-fries, soups, or savory pancakes, or grate it into baked dishes. Prepare young fruit much as you would zucchini; peel or remove coarse seeds if needed as fruit ages.

Discard any squash with an unusually intense bitter taste. Do not continue eating it or rely on cooking to remove the bitterness.

Harvest and seed storage

Refrigerate harvested summer squash and use while firm and fresh. This is a tender summer squash crop, not a variety being offered for long winter storage.

Keep unused treated seeds in their labeled packaging in a cool, dry, secure place, separate from food and feed. Follow the treatment label and retain its warnings for future use.