Topic: No butternut squash

[caroline7758]

Loads of courgettes, loads of pumpkins, all planted the same time and in the same patch as the squash, but not a single fruit. :( Any ideas why? The leaves on the squash have been paler all along - is that normal or could it be a clue to the problem?

[saddad]

I have no luck with them either Caroline, think they need a bit more heat than we can provide at the moment!
 :-\

[annppayne]

Same experience here, based in Northampton.    Probably not enough sunny days to get bees out to pollinate the flowers and then lack of heat to get the butternut squashes to grow.   Certainly not due to lack of rain !!

[twinkletoes]

I have been a bit luckier - I have three butternut squashes (Cobnut) from four plants. They are not huge - probably the size of a grapefruit-and-a-half.  They are a lovely pale buff colour at the moment and can't wait to pick them. I have loads of smaller ones too but they are still green and I don't know whether they will have time to reach maturity - will leave them on to see as the leaves on the vines are still going strong.....  I tried to grow them last year and was completely unsuccessful.  So, it would seem that it pays to be persistent. 
twinkletoes

[oakmore2]

My plant had none until a few days ago - two very tiny green butternuts are now growing. Me thinks they might never make it to the plate though! Pleased to hear you had success in your second year with them twinkletoes as this is my first year attempting to grow them -  hopefully better luck next year!

xx

[chappy]

Mine won't even flower.

Can I just ask while Butternuts are on this post.

My butternut is planted in a large planter and has 3 stems growing all over the place, with loads of of flower buds. But none have flowered.

Would I be better to trim it back to a few buds to stop green growth and try to trigger it into flowering?

I'm never going to get 20 Butternuts off the plant but there must be at least 20 buds on the stems.

What do you think?

[Stevens706]

First time of growing them and not a hint of a fruit – very disappointed

[caroline7758]

Oh well, makse me fel better to know I'm not the only one!

[twinkletoes]

....but you are all going to have another go at them next year eh?   :)  I put mine about 2.5 ft apart in a square and sloshing on loads of water every day (exept when I didn't go cos it was too wet!  ::) ) and I didn't take off any of the runners until the first three butternuts had formed and started change colour.
twinkletoes

[GrannieAnnie]

I had one plant and reaped one squash. 
Didn't feel too badly though because the free seed
was plucked from one we ate from the store.
Has anyone tried growing them vertically??
Maybe I should start a new thread.
Guess I better so nobody yells at me!

[Amazin]

My variety of butternut squash, called Ithoughticus Itwascourgetticus, has three fruits on it, getting bigger but still green and, as they are accidentally in the garden border, I've trained them up the sunflowers (or should I say, sunplants, as there's still no sign of any blossom yet). Anyway, the squash are doing pretty well growing vertically. And GrannieAnnie...

OI!

Feel free to yell back any time!

 ;D

[Bean_Queen]

It's been too wet, cold and dark for Butternuts.  Even the "UK climate" ones like Harrier, Hawk and Hunter haven't done well: mine are about half the size they ought to be.

My best ever crop was in 2005, which had a longer, warmer growing season (than 07 or 08)

[Plot69]

We have been away for the whole six week school holiday. When I got back to the allotments the weeds had taken over so I have a few days work to do once it stops raining.

However weeds were not the only things to go wild. My Butternut squash plants, 3 of them, have also gone wild and reached lengths in excess of 35 foot in all directions. I can't tread anywhere without falling over a giant Butternut. I have enough to make soup to fill an olympic sized swimming pool.

It's the first time I've ever grown them and other than ignoring them and leaving them to fend for themselves for the past six weeks I've done nothing to aid them.

I brought three home, one we gave to the washing machine repair man who happened to see them and loves them, one my wife made soup with last night which we had with cheese on toast croutons and it was the best soup I've ever had, the other is in the picture I've just taken for this post with the Sky remote for scale.

There are at least 15 to 20, maybe even more lurking in the undergrowth still on the plants. Like I said, I did nothing to help them other than transplant them months ago into manure filled holes.




The question now is... Do I store them as they are or make soup and try to find a swimming pool sized freezer?

[oakmore2]

Wowsers!!! :o :o :o
That's amazing!!
Maybe I should try a 6 week break to see if my allotment does better without me tinkering with things.
I'm seriously impressed!!!!
xx

[Tulipa]

That looks brilliant, which seed did you plant and where did you buy it from?  I bet there will be many people drooling over that one!

Ideally you need to ripen the skin for storage - that means in the sun. ???  If we ever see it!!  Which soup recipe did your wife use?  I am always looking for new squash soup recipes to add variety in our house.

Brill squash! :)

T.

[thifasmom]

You bloody lucky bast**d ;D wow :o.
Leave them on the plants till the plants start to die naturally or till the first frost forecast then remove from vines with a good bit of stem, leave them somewhere warm and hopefully sunny like an open greenhouse to fully ripen then store in a cool dry place for the rest of winter. I had an OK crop last year about 8 large to medium size ones (none like your giants) which kept us happy right up till march and I stored them in my closed greenhouse all winter which might have been too cold at times as the standing water in there froze a couple times but they all kept well. Please tell us which seeds you used, last year and the year before i got plants from my neighbour who simply grew plants from seeds out of store bought fruits, this year i bought seed to grow myself and the crop has not been as productive.

[Plot69]

Wowsers!!! :o :o :o
That's amazing!!
Maybe I should try a 6 week break to see if my allotment does better without me tinkering with things.
I'm seriously impressed!!!!
xx

Thank you very much but I wouldn't advise a six week break, especially mid summer. It's like starting from scratch now that I'm back.

That looks brilliant, which seed did you plant and where did you buy it from?  I bet there will be many people drooling over that one!

Ideally you need to ripen the skin for storage - that means in the sun. ???  If we ever see it!!  Which soup recipe did your wife use?  I am always looking for new squash soup recipes to add variety in our house.

Brill squash! :)

The seed... Johnsons World Kitchen Sprinter F1. Cost £2.29 for about 10 seeds.

On this page, 6th one up.  http://www.johnsons-seeds.com/acatalog/wkseeds.html

The recipe... Squash. Sweet peppers. Mushrooms. Hot chili. Whole garlic. Large onions (All home grown). All chopped up and baked in the oven then wizzed up with water in a blender to the desired texture and served with cheese on toast croutons... Or in my case, whole slices floating in it... Lovely.

I don't like mine puree'd too much, I like it grainy so to speak with an extra hot chili slipped onto the baking tray when the Missus isn't looking.

You lucky, lucky bast**d ;D wow :o.

What is this, Monty Python?

Anyway, thanks for your comments. I'll certainly store them as you advise. With the amount of weeds I have to clear it'll be a while before I can find them all.

Seeds are as mentioned above. If it wasn't for the fact they're F1 I'd save a load and put them the seed swap. But as they're Johnsons they shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Tulipa]

Thanks, I have added that to my seed list! :)

T.

[Plot69]

Forgot to say, I have 5 pumpkins as well. The largest of which will certainly test the integrity of my wheel barrow.

This is what my plots were like before I went away...



And after I came back...

[Barnowl]

The Sprinter seeds are a bit cheaper at:

http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_22_43_114

but they don;t mention F1

or at

http://www.tozerseedsdirect.com/seeds/C185-squashbutternut.php

Can vouch for Organic Catalog but haven't bought from Tozer