Topic: Some of my Crown Prince Squashes!

[tricia]

These are just three of the netted 9 that are growing on just one plant.

Tricia

[antipodes]

9 on one plant!!! Do you have a cow tied next to it, trained to throw a few cowpats its way on a daily basis??? I consider 3 fruits per vine a great result! you have done really well.

[Digeroo]

Fab looking fruits Tricia.  Have you got more than one plant?

Do you have a cow tied next to it

  What a brilliant idea.   

[tricia]

Antipodes - There are two Butternuts and one Crown Prince rather close together in an 85cm x 170cm raised bed.  Each one was planted on a couple of spadesful of manure and they have been fed with liquidised chicken pellets every 10 days or so since starting to set fruit. The end Butternut has eight on it, the middle one only two and the C.P. did have twelve but I removed the three smallest (cooked them as I do courgettes) to give the bigger ones the best chance of maturing. They are amazing - the most I've previously harvested from a C.P. is two. I just hope these are ready to harvest by 13 October when I go on holiday for three weeks!

Digeroo - I have another C.P. in a large tub which has one fruit on it - also tied to a frame.  Heaven knows where I'm going to store them all. I have more Bush Butternuts and Festival growing in tubs too. Looks like being a bumper year for me for squashes  .

Tricia

[Digeroo]

What do you do to liquidize chicken pellets, do you simply drop them into the watering can?
How much do you give each plant.

Eight butternuts is amazing too, sounds like you had very good manure.   

[tricia]

Two handfuls of pellets into a 7 litre watering can - swish around with a stick and leave for an hour or two to dissolve  then swish again and pour (I count to 7 while pouring  ) around each plant. The manure was from a sack left over from last year - I didn't manage to get to the farm to get any this year so instead of each raised bed being spread with manure last November, I had to make do with a couple of spadesful under each squash and courgette plant when planting. (My celeriac are rubbish this year though which I put down to lack of manure and water.)

Today I almost panicked when I noticed that the obelisk with the Crown Princes was listing to one side. The squashes are growing so fast I'm not sure they are safe but they obviously like my watering and feeding method! I'll get a strong male neighbour to push the frames deeper into the soil tomorrow - I just don't have the strength myself.

Tricia

(Funny old spell checker - 'handfuls, but 'spadesful.)

[strawberry1]

They are fantastic Tricia, so healthy. Your obelisk idea is really working with my butternut squash, I only set it up a couple of weeks ago and it is already 2/3 of the way up and has 5 good sizes squash. Much much better and faster than being on the ground. Mine is getting comfrey as  it is readily available. I am so impressed that I bought 3 more obelisks ready for next year. I am very glad that I saw your postings

[antipodes]

I didn't manure this year but I have found the squash to be excellent too. I planted a Golden Nugget which is doing exceptionally well. I am a bit disappointed with the Pink Banana as I can only see one fruit on it so far but often squashes hide in the foliage!