Topic: Which squash hardiest for North of England/Wales

[Hector]

I have these
Red Kuri
Sugar Loaf
Celebration
Hunter Butternut
BUT some will have to be outside. I have 2 Hunter undercover already and am wondering which  of the above I should prioritise for remaining cloche space and which are most likely to be ok outside :)

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

we grow all our squashes outdoors here in Chester. Last year was a poor one weatherwise but we did great. Problems were poor pollination early on, and then slug damage later in the season

here a pic of some of last years harvest btw

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,45777.0.html

[Hector]

wow, that's inspiring...did yoou trail them along ground or up trellis etc...fantastic crop.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

last year they were in a bed, in very poor soil. I had to dig big holes with a pick axe and then filled them up with compost and manure

This year i'm growing some in a bed, and some over an arch (for the first time). The arch ones are
Sweet dumpling and Little Gem, from Simpsons, and Table Queen from Jeannine. Sweet dumpling and Table queen are great. There's a pic here somewhere of the sweet dumplings stuffed and ready to eat (special treat for my Mum's birthday - she still talks about them  :D)

[realfood]

I have given up on sweet dumpling as it does not do well with me in Glasgow. There are much better ones for the North.
This para is taken from my website:-
Suggested quick maturing varieties of Winter Squash

The following varieties have all had successfully trials in Glasgow during a cool Summer, using the methods described above.

Festival F1. This is a very quick maturing variety that carries several, sweet tasting, small, pretty squashes. Each one is the right size for a family meal, some 1 kg, and could also be readily stuffed and then micro-waved. It is very good for storing and will regularly store into the next Summer.

Red Kuri or Uchiki Kuri. There is some dispute in the seed catalogues as to whether these are different names for the same variety or two different cultivars of the same variety. Red Kuri may be a redder cultivar. In any event, they are quick maturing with a good flavour, weighing about 1.3 kg each. Should store till late Winter.

Crown Prince F1. This is very tasty, having large blue/grey fruits each about 4 kg, and has a large quantity of useable flesh, and stores well into Spring.

Bonbon F1.  This one came top in a recent independent taste test with a dry, nutty taste. Each fruit weighs about 2 kg and should store into the Winter.

This year I am trialling another 4 or 5 varieties in addition to the ones above and will let you know how they do in Glasgow.

[Hector]

Thanks people, I am a Glaswegian near Chester...so both sources of info particularly useful :)

[Digeroo]

I am growing both Red Kuri and Uchiki Kuri.  Obviously no fruit yet, but the plants are currently quite different.  Red Kuri seem to be slow to grow, while Uchiki Kuri are on a take over bid.  Seeds from defferent source.

It will be interesting to see if they end up the same.

[daileg]

I'm in south wales and growing gem squash, butternut ,Amish pie,jack o lantern and crown prince but the latter hasn't germinated so have given up on them last years crop like others have stated were  slow to start due to rain and fruits dropping off before setting correctly poor pollination but gained a good enough crop in the end

[the_snail]

When you grow squashes outside there is normally a rule that if you are going to start them under cover then plant them outside it is a good idea if you are in the south to put them in the ground around mid to late may then the further north you are the later you plant them out so the midlands I would say the start of june and the north of England mid June.

TheSnail