Butternut squash (may be a silly question)

[suzan]

Hi, i bought a butternut squash this week for the first time and i was amazed at how many seeds were inside, could these seeds be sowed? if so any advice on how to look after them would be most welcomed x

[Scarlet]

Yes, they can be sown BUT they may not grow and give fruit like you have bought.
Butternuts, courgettes etc will cross freely with each other so your seed may grow and give fruit that is looks /tastes disgusting. It may not fruit at all. It may well turn out fine but they take up a lot of space and for the price of a few seed it's worth growing something that will give you a decent return for your hard work.

[Bigmallly]

Hi Suzan, anything is worth a try but you may not know what you are going to get, they may be F1's or have cross pollinated. Dry a few out & see how they do. After all you've nowt to lose apart from some growing space.

[Scarlet]

Ps...not a silly question! Peeps often grow peppers, chillies etc from bought fruit but I think it's less of a gamble as they don't take up so much room and don't cross quite do freely as the squash family.

[Bigmallly]

If you think yours is a silly question, try growing tinned tomatoes...............

[Lumpy]

A few years ago I had 8 butternut squash plants, grown from seeds from one that I had bought that completely filled a very large veggie patch. They can grow very large and very fast if it is warm enough etc.
Dry the seeds out on a plate first and then treat them like other pumpkin and squah etc - they need alot of warmth.

Because the parent fruit was probably an import from a much warmer country the only way I got fruit (and tiny ones at that) off my triffids was to limit the number of fruits to 3 per plant which makes the area they cover not worthwhile.

Last year I grew Butterbush - a container variety that gives smaller fruit but does stay in it's pot.

[suzan]

Thank you for the swift replies, i don't think i will bother, it doesn't sound a good idea, plus i don't think i will have enough room.

[Bigmallly]

Why don't you see what's in the VSP?

[Lumpy]

I can send you a few Butterbush seeds if you want to have a go at them instead. Just send me a private message with your address and I will get some in the post.

I also have a few Summer Ball seeds you can have - these can be grown as courgettes but if you leave 2-3 fruit on the plant they will get big enough to become pumpkins.

[Bigmallly]

What a friendly forum this is......................

[veggiechicken]

If you think yours is a silly question, try growing tinned tomatoes...............

OK, what do I do next?

[vixylix]

VC you are queen of the nutters - I love it

[Snoop Puss]

Very hard to get a tin to germinate!

[Gillykat]

Very hard to get a tin to germinate!

Think it needs to be in a brighter spot than that VC....and don't forget to water it!