Topic: How have winter squashes and pumpkins fared in 2011?

[BAK]

I read the thread on Waltham butternuts with interest.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,69364.0.html

Pumpkins across our site in Berks seem as impressive as ever, while winter squashes also seem to have had a reasonable year.

However, butternuts generally seem to have had a poor year. A number of plot holders have grown Harrier and only ended up with very small fruits. We grow Avalon which, while they have done better, have only produced about 70% of the fruits that they did last year and they are roughly half the size. There again, 2010 was an excellent year for butternuts in these parts.

How was it where you are?

[RenishawPhil]

Ours had a terrible start(butternuts). But seem to have caught up now and got a decent number of fruits on.  Pumpkins have produced some monsters!

[Deb P]

My Rouge Vif D'Etampes 'Cinderalla' pumpkins did really well in a bit of ground that had been very weedy and was covered all of last year to clear it and just had manure out in the planting holes.

My BNS were dreadful, I tried growing them over black plastic with deep bottomless pots filled with manure and compost, and they were pathetic. ::)

[saddad]

I've never managed to grow Butternuts... but my Pumpkin patch has done OK...
Etampes, Marina, Crown Prince, Muscade... no Giants but enough to keep us going...  :)

[Digeroo]

I have given up on butternuts after a very poor showing last year.  Plenty of leaves but only a few very small fruits. 

I am a big fan of Tromba D'Albenga which is same squash family: Curcurbita Moschata.  I have six or so very large ones.   

One survived all last winter only finally rotting when the seeds inside germinated.  They have good flavour and the skin is not so hard so easier to use.  Once started the cut gets covered in a sweet gel and seals the wound so they can last for a couple of weeks.  The seeds are also all up one end so much more to eat than a traditional BNS.  Seeds are cheap too, a packet from Franchi will last for years.

Quite a few other squashes and pumpkins.  Lakota looking very nice lets hope it tastes as good as it looks. 

[antipodes]

Very good. So far 2 Turk's Turban and another one still on the vine and a nice red pumpkin which could be an Atlantic Giant (although it seems a bit flat to me!) which is almost 40cm across!!! There are two Atlantic giants still on the vine, 2 Qld Blue and at least 5 Black mmm Fujutsu??? Is that their name?
Courgettes were a bit slow this year, I have had quite a few and more are currently growing but I couldn't say there was a glut. The striped Striata d'Italia were gorgeous, and still producing.

[strawberry1]

butternut hunter was planted out early enough but was very slow to get into flowering but once it started then there was no stopping it. I have 2 plants and have just picked 14 which are maturing at home, outside in the dry. I left at least 8 as I want to see what happens to their size over the next couple of weeks. The ones I picked are about half shop size but tbh are perfect for two of us

I am in somerset so weather is pretty good but too dry at times

[pansy potter]

Fetched 3 bon bon home today from 2 plants.

[Dandytown]

Antipodes:  Yep, Black Futsu is the name and they taste great.  Only wish I had grown them this year.

My tromba di albenga tasted great too but I have only harvested one albeit about 1m long.  The plants had a really bad start due to the weather and never really picked up.

Spaghetti squash, tuffy sweet and thelma sanders (all had at least 5 per plant).  Bon Bon had 5 over 2 plants and hooligan did well too (15 from 2 plants) Delicata not so good and gave me two small fruits.

Lunga di napoli just failed to germinate all summer and I only have one butternut.

Giant pumpkin though is at 350 lbs  ;D (25 stone or 160 kg) so it wasnt that bad a year but could of been better had there been more sunshine.

[antipodes]

Antipodes:  Yep, Black Futsu is the name and they taste great.  Only wish I had grown them this year.

Giant pumpkin though is at 350 lbs  ;D (25 stone or 160 kg) so it wasnt that bad a year but could of been better had there been more sunshine.

That's the one! they look really attractive! As they are spread all over the path (what tolerant neighbours I have), I noticed a few people looking at them wonderingly. If they are good eaters, that is great news!!!! There are about 4 or 5 on the vine (one vine) so I am pretty pleased.

For the giant pumpkin, my neighbour grew one in his leftover manure  ;D  It is huge, at least 60 or 70 cm across. I dunno what he'll do with it - he lives alone with his wife but grows the most amazing amount of veg, I only assume he gives it away. He grows at least 400 leeks each winter - he even gave me some last year, they were beaut.

I didn't manage to get butternuts going this year! Silly really because last year I got about 10 of them and they were really nice (they were Harrier type, quite tasty). Always next year!

[Stevens706]

Poor year for me for squashes, the pumpkins for Halloween are only the size of a small ball and the BNS has only about 3 fruits set on 4 plants.

Mustn’t complain better than nothing and if everything was great what challenges would I have next year.

[Kea]

I was having a good year with Kaboucha squash but as each one reached a fairly decent size (but before it was mature as it's a winter squash) it would be taken, neatly cut off with a knife. i have lost 5 so far...I harvested one a bit soon just so I'd get one.

[pumkinlover]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. :(

[realfood]

I have just picked the first of my small sugars, but they are actually rather big, 2.5 kg!! Even the plant is an absolute monster, bigger than all my other ones.

[pansy potter]

Its worse to have grown them and then have them stolen.

[Kea]

Certainly is. Next year there will be some sort of surprise in store for the thief. I have all winter to plan.

[Dandytown]

Certainly is. Next year there will be some sort of surprise in store for the thief. I have all winter to plan.

That's a real shame and I am sure Karma will find its way to them in good time.  I can only hope it is an outsider entering the plot as it would be even sadder if the theif was 'among us' so to speak i.e another plot holder.

[lottie lou]

Would you share with us Kea?  Will have to wait to get home to check mine - at mo across the pond visiting new granddaughter.  How sad am I????

[small]

I got so many fruits from three Hunter last year, and they lasted right till the summer, so I only did one plant this year.....very slow to get going, it set 6 fruits in the end but we have had no rain so they are miniatures, I'll be interested to see what the taste is like but I won't be giving away this year...

[Squashfan]

Had a few small spaghettis, and one small pumpkin. Which was stolen.  :'(
Not the finest year for winter squash for me. Summer squashes were fine.