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  • #1

    Butternut squash disappointment

    Was very excited as they plants grew leafy and healthy. However, a couple of problems. Early summer all the flowers were male then they went over all followed by all female flowers. None of which have been fertilised by the non existent males. It seems there's never a male around when I need one!

    This is my only failure in the first of allotment ownership.

    What have I done wrong?
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  • #2
    Are you up north? Butternuts need a long hot summer to do well ... I'm in the sunny east, and I struggle to get them to ripen.

    I now tend to grow easier squashes: Golden Nugget is one of the first to ripen and doesn't take up too much room.
    Last edited by Two_Sheds; 10-08-2011, 05:32 PM.
    All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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    • #3
      See, I am not alone! P1nky, sweetie, do not lose hope. Many of the wise sages on the vine have advised that Butternuts are somewhat weird and wonderful. Having had a number of fruits that went yellow and withered away, after a long time of nothing, I once again have some baby fruits. Gladys the BNS squash has had a rollercoaster since the day she germinated! The woes have been documented on another thread. There have been boys bits, no girls bits and vice versa. Folks have suggested assisted pollination. I will be leaving Gladys alone, and occasionally saying hello, armed with a bit of tomato feed.

      And, just remembered, do you have any other curcurbits? The boy bits from marrows and courgette-y things is apparently just as good if you BNS doesn't have any male flowers.

      So to quote the spice girls, Never Give up!
      Horticultural Hobbit

      http://twitter.com/#!/HorticulturalH
      https://www.facebook.com/pages/Horti...085870?sk=info

      http://horticulturalhobbit.com/

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      • #4
        Welcome to the boards P1nky.

        As hobbit said, you may still get some females and if you have any males from other squashes, pumpkins or courgettes around then use a fine paint brush or cotton bud to 'paint' the pollen onto your female BNS.

        That said, I haven't been overly successful with BNS but have good success with other winter squashes, especially Cobnut squash which look and taste just like BNS but ripen earlier and seem a lot more forgiving of the weather.

        It would help if you could add your whereabouts to your profile (county is fine if you don't want to give out your town/city/village) as this can help identify whether or not a problem is regional or specific

        Reet
        x

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        • #5
          I've stopped peering under the leaves of my BNS plant - I can't bear the daily disappointment. Hooligan pumpkins, however, are doing brilliantly. I might look to get some Cobnut seeds for next year.
          come visit a garden
          or read about mine www.suburbanvegplot.blogspot.com/

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          • #6
            Excuse my lack of education but if i pollinate my BNS with a courgette male (of which I've plenty) do i still get a true BNS of some mixture of the 2

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            • #7
              MG - the fruit that you get will be a proper butternut squash - but the seeds inside could produce a crossed plant. So if you want to save the seed its best not to. But squash are V promiscuous anyway so if you are growing different varieties in the same garden you can not be sure of seeds coming out true to type anyway!

              I polinated my BNS with a courgette last year and did V well! If you look at my pics! My BNS came first in the vine show!
              http://meandtwoveg.blogspot.com

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              • #8
                Yep, I've got a rubbish butternut crop this year - only two half decent sized one from four plants when I looked at tghe lottie yesterday. I hardly got any last year either. It can't be lack of sun or water though because they are right next to a sweet dumpling squash which is romping away.
                BNS are very unpredictable and, to be honest, there are so many other delicious squashes that are not as readily available in supermarkets as BNS, that I may not bother with them next year.

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                • #9
                  The basic problem with Butternuts, Cucurbita Moschata, is that they take much longer( a month or more) to start flowering that the other Winter Squash varieties such as Cucurbita Maxima or Cucurbita Pepo. While Winter Squash are fairly easy to grow outside, Butternut squash can be very difficult, as they require a much longer growing period and higher temperatures. Even with the latest breeding, they will need protection in the North of the UK to get the Butternuts to fruit and then have time to mature and harden off. While they grow well in Southern England, it would be easier to stick with Cucurbita Maxima or Cucurbita Pepo varieties of Winter Squash elsewhere further North, unless you can provide protection.

                  For several years, I have been carrying out comparative trials ( taste and ease of growing), of the cucurbita maxima and pepo varieties of Winter Squash.
                  For details of the results for choosing varieties for next year, go to winter_squash
                  Last edited by realfood; 11-08-2011, 06:11 PM.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by realfood View Post
                    The basic problem with Butternuts, Cucurbita Moschata, is that they take much longer( a month or more) to start flowering that the other Winter Squash varieties such as Cucurbita Maxima or Cucurbita Pepo. While Winter Squash are fairly easy to grow outside, Butternut squash can be very difficult, as they require a much longer growing period and higher temperatures. Even with the latest breeding, they will need protection in the North of the UK to get the Butternuts to fruit and then have time to mature and harden off. While they grow well in Southern England, it would be easier to stick with Cucurbita Maxima or Cucurbita Pepo varieties of Winter Squash elsewhere further North, unless you can provide protection.

                    For several years, I have been carrying out comparative trials ( taste and ease of growing), of the cucurbita maxima and pepo varieties of Winter Squash.
                    For details of the results for choosing varieties for next year, go to winter_squash
                    Thankyou for making us realise it's not our fault.
                    Sent from my pc cos I don't have an i-phone.

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                    • #11
                      Hmmm, so why are butternuts so commonly grown in the UK then? It can't just be the flavour, they're nice but there's plenty of equally tasty squashes. I'm going to go for soemthing a bit more unusual next year.

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                      • #12
                        They're commonly tried, Nik. Not a lot make it to fruition ~ a polytunnel would def. help
                        All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                        • #13
                          They are tried, fair and square, but the jury is still out. Are very trying, but so am
                          I, or so I am told
                          Horticultural Hobbit

                          http://twitter.com/#!/HorticulturalH
                          https://www.facebook.com/pages/Horti...085870?sk=info

                          http://horticulturalhobbit.com/

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Two_Sheds View Post
                            They're commonly tried, Nik. Not a lot make it to fruition ~ a polytunnel would def. help
                            Ho ho. Every year I try BNS (and pumpkins and some sort of winter squash), every year I fail. OH asked a farmer recently who just shook his head and said get yourself a big cold frame. I'm thinking of trying in the greenhouse next year.
                            Garden Grower
                            Twitter: @JacobMHowe

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