Grow Your Own Magazine

I'm so dying with curiosity! Has anybody started eating butternut squash? Since the weather improved, my plants are up to 4 feet but no flowers yet. There are buds (I think) at the base of almost every leaves so I guess these are going to be flowers, male ones first.

My thoughts are that there's absolutely no way I'm going to make it for butternut this year, deadline is October for last harvest unless we have Indian summer right up to November.

__________________
Food for Free

Hello Veg 4681. I'm not eating butternut squash yet, but the squash are there and ripening to that tan colour. We are into September so it does seem late for you to get fruits ripened if you haven't got flowers yet. But maybe summer will go on into November and you will be lucky. When did you start your squash ? They want a long growing season and I aim to have them as big as I can in the greenhouse ready to go out when frost is past. If you started them late maybe you could start earlier next year. But good luck for this year.

__________________

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

I think it must be all too little too late for mine I've had dozens of male flowers but not a single female. I can't really hope that any females will grow to edible size now... can I?

Claire

I've got quite a few fruits on my squash plants,but they're all about the size of golf balls(or smaller)so I'm not holding my breath for this year.I think for them to grow to a useful size we'd need an indian summer lasting 'till Christmas.

On your knees everyone - let us pray

__________________
A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

I have one fruit, about tennis ball sized... Not sure it's got much chance to ripen here in Yorkshire, but thinking about putting a coldframe over it when night temps start dipping too far. Never grown them before, so I'd really like to get one fruit??!!
I'm also having the same problem with sweetcorn this year - the cobs are formed, and I helped the pollination process out by hand, but kernels just aren't swelling up fast enough...
Still, the kids go back to school on Tuesday, so the sun is bound to come out with force then, it usually does!

__________________
Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Glad its not just me. In 2005 I had more giant butternuts than I could eat, but since then, crop failure every year. It is just so tricky. Last year was too hot and dry, this year too wet and dark. I have a couple of tennis ball size Golden Nuggets, and one football size "mars pumpkin", but all the butternuts failed totally.
My sweetcorn is good though, ate three Tuxedo cobs y'day.

__________________
~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Had a really good crop last year, have not had one squash at all this year, they started to grow then rotted on the plant and fell off. Oh well better luck next year. Linda

It's been a rubbish year for mine this year; slug damage, water logged, cold etc all leading to no crops at all. A couple of quite healthy plants though! Have some spare seeds so will be trying again next year.

__________________

Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

It is not a great year for my winter squashes. I grew 3 types of them( red kuri, pomme d'or, and Yokohama.
Red Kuri has been performing very well, it produce 2 to 4 ( one of them even produce 6 ) but the slugs has damage quite a few of them, I have harvested 6 big squashes and 3 small ones from 3 vines, the last vine with 2 squashes is on it's way .
Pomme D'or is a lovely tiny single serving french squash, it has nice taste. It does produce loads ( I have some 30+ of them ), they are now turning yellow to it's final colour, pomme d'or has suffered quite some loses too ( to wasp and slugs).
Yokohama, It has shown it's first female flower a month a go and then nothing... but 2 weeks ago I notice lots of female flowers coming... I have seen 3 tiny small squashes on the vine, finger cross and hope for the best !
So far, I have eaten 3 small red kuri and 2 pomme d'or squashes.

Momol

__________________
I grow, I pick, I eat ...

Veg4681, I'm in your boat.

My usual knee high squash 20 x 30 foot jungle hiding dozens of fruit is an embaressment of little tentacled copse's of growth stranded across my carpet mulch. Said copse's no larger than six foot across the tentacles, sprinkled with random flowers and not a fruit in existance.

__________________
Always thank people who have helped you immediately, as they may not be around to thank later.
Visit my blog at http://podsplot.blogspot.com/
I support http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/

Well, I saw maybe one or two set fruits at the start of the summer but all have disappeared
under a mass of leaves, maybe the plants are to happy and just growing leaves....I won't know until the chill weather sets in! will it be leaves or squashes that win the day?
I hope it's squashes....in need them for soup! we got hooked on it last autumn and as Mr HF has just bought me a hugely expensive nutmeg grater I am depending on there being SQUASHES under the mass of leaves............Please!

Our BNS have only just started producing male flowers so not holding out much hope of getting anything off them this year.
Our Jack Be Little pumkpins are doing quite well, got about 10 or so set fruits in various sizes and they seem to be quite happy.
Our Sweet Dumplings are romping ahead! The plants are huge and covered in little set fruits. Our largets fruit (when i last checked it over a week ago) was the size of... a small melon!!! The others are catching up so fingers crossed come the frosts we'll have a few decent sized fruits for stew/roasting etc

On a side note our corns (both baby and normal) have done brilliantly - apart from some lack of pollinate on the tips, they've been great and tasted fab.

Never grown squashes before so have nothing to compare against.

However sounds as if I am doing better than most!

Have 2 happily ripening away at the moment, with about 6 or 8 at a reasonable size so am hopeful that they will ripe, and loads of little tiddlers.

Derek

__________________
http://madallotment.blogspot.com/ - updated 19/08/2007

No, Its not a good year, but I still think you may have luck yet -they do keep going till the proper frosts start (Dec usually down here). Normally, powdery mildew has done for mine by then but It is more about waiting for them to ripen- essential if you are going to store them.

__________________
Advertising is the rattling of a stick in a swill bucket. George Orwell
Paul

My first year growing squash of any type.
Have had a small pumpkin already, leaves of plant died off, and when I tapped the fruit it sounded hollow, so its now in my garage. Have got a nice sized squash on another plant, coming along nicely.

My other squash plants are younger than these two, and have just started setting loads of flowers.
I'm happy with them so far.

__________________
I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

www.bradleyroundtwo.blogspot.com

can I fleece my squash patch or will that increase the risk of mildew?

Good Question? don't see why. I don't think its an air circulation problem that causes it. Its more to keep the frost off the ripening fruit and by that stage mildew doesn't matter...I'd guess its fine...but there shouldn't be a frost in Oxon just yet.

__________________
Advertising is the rattling of a stick in a swill bucket. George Orwell
Paul

Just checking as I found many babies when looking under the mass of leaves last night!
I am hoping to get them big enough to eat???
Thanks Paulottie, I will only fleece if I have to.
ps.....burrrrrr cold last night 6 deg in greenhouse! eeek!!

I had the same problem last year and then all of a sudden I had reasonable sized butternuts! The same has happened this year - at the moment they are the size of a golf ball - so wait a while to see what happens.

FarmGirl, Hi and welcome!
Mine are about the same size at the moment!

Mine are just sprouting tentacles! I'm sure the seed packet said winter bns though. Will check later. Am really excited to see these grow - first timer n all that (!!) - these plants are monster !!

I know, mine says Winter too. Maybe that's in reference to being able to store squash for 3 months (or more??) after you've harvested in Oct. My seed packet shows harvesting between Sep and Oct.

It could be warm right up to November, who knows. I might try and protect the plants during cold nights. After all, what have I got to lose.

__________________
Food for Free