Winter Squash sowing

[djbiff]

Hi,

I'm just starting out with my first allotment and I want to grow some winter squash. I've searched for advice on sowing and there seems to be a couple of different approaches.

I've seen it recommend to sow 5-6 seeds on hills and then thin down to 2-3 plants and I've also seen advice saying plant seeds in individual pots indoors and then plant out one plant per hill.

Is it a case that either of these methods is fine? If I go for the three plants per hill option do i need to increase the spacing between the hills?

Does anyone have a method that works for them that I could try?

thanks

[sparrow100]

Either is fine. The benefit of sowing indoors is you minimise seed waste/you know you are planting out something that has germinated. The benefit of doing outdoors is you can thin to the strongest seedling, though if it's too cold/wet they might not germinate..

[Alison]

If I sow them outside then the slugs will have them, it also means I have to sow later when frosts have passed whereas inside I have more control.

[mothhawk]

Squashes are hungry plants. Most advice that I have read in American gardening books say to allow only one plant per hill. After all, if you put 2 plants together they will compete with each other for food and moisture, so unless you are going to feed and water twice as much, then 2 plants will still probably only produce as much as one plant on its own.

[Two_Sheds]

Why would you plant them on a hill?

They are thirsty plants, if anything plant them in a shallow bowl which you can flood with water


(There's a house round the corner which has 2 plants in a lawn. The plants are always put on top of a mound of soil, and are always dead)

[Alison]

Why would you plant them on a hill?

They are thirsty plants, if anything plant them in a shallow bowl which you can flood with water


(There's a house round the corner which has 2 plants in a lawn. The plants are always put on top of a mound of soil, and are always dead)

The theory is that you don't rot the stem, I don't go for that either and don't form any sort of hill


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[greenishfing]

I grow them in pots first then when I plant out I plant level with the surrounding soil then scoop out a moat around them for watering and stick a tall cane in the soil to mark where they are as when they go mad it is hard to find the original planting hole.

[Shadylane]

I start in pots then plant out when big enough not to get eaten. I don't do hills either. I sink a plant pot in for watering. I like your cane idea greenishfing, I struggled to find the watering holes last year so might try this.

[djbiff]

Thanks a lot for the help I'll go for one plant per "hill". I'll also experiment with hills and ground level planting and see what happens. Sounds like it'd be a good idea for me to cover the seedlings when they're small to avoid them being eaten.

I'm excited to try this now....i've got plenty of space as I managed to kill my broccoli seedlings!

[The Nichols']

I plant in pots in the polytunnel, harden off then plant in a bowl containing freshly rotted pig muck. We certainly get more than a few off of each plant.

I must admit, I've never thought of the hill idea. Might give that a try and see if it makes any difference.

[Kristen]

They hate any cold / chill, so I don't plant mine out until June to avoid any chilly nights (let alone chilly nights, a late frost will kill them ) having potted on to fairly large pots - 2L or more. The Winter (Butternut) Squash I grow are a long-season crop, so I like to start the seeds around end of April / 1st week of May (they grow quickly so I don't start them too early)