I went a bit mad this year and direct sowed quite a few squash as I wasn't sure they would all come up.Of course they have!!
I was wondering, can I move them to space them out better? And when should I do it? They have not quite got their true leaves yet, they are just sprouting now. They are butternuts and some Turk's Turbans.
I have moved mine from pots so i don't see the difference between moving them from one bed to another. You will need to keep them well watered though, especially if the weather is as dry in western France as it is here.
I've successfully transplanted many things that supposedly don't like it, even larger plants with buds, but if watered AND SHADED they almost always have survived. Sometimes I just plop a yard chair over them to keep off noon sun, or sometimes something more like a circle of wire fencing with some cloth draped over, just making sure there is plenty of room for airflow under it or they'll cook for sure.
We have a plague of moles at the moment. Some of my squashes with buds on have been dug up and replanted twice. They seem to survive that ok, but it does set them back. To transplant once and water in well is no issue but I would wait for true leaves.
I chit mine and sometimes wait too long and the coteledon have opened. They do not seem to mind moving at all. Sometimes the roots are all tangled up and I have to tease them gently apart. The stems are quite brittle so you will have to be very careful. The roots might be longer than you think so dig a good big bit of soil round them and they will not even have any root disturbance.
Thanks for all that. In the end, I saw they did start to have true leaves so I took them out of the ground with a whole spadeful of earth and moved them, they don't seem to have batted an eyelid! I watered them well and planted them into mounds of rotted compost so I guess they like that!
A lot of squash this year - I have 3 cukes growing, 4 courgettes (green, yellow, pattypan), a butternut and hopefully what has come up is a Pink Banana. And now that the sun is hot, the fat Baby acchocha is starting to climb up its stakes... I planted most of them near the edges, they will just run up the path with a bit of luck.