Topic: Butternut Squash

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, I have grown some butternut squash for the first time an I'm in a bit of quandary. The plants have grown well after a lull then my realizing they need plenty of water. I grew them under my sweetcorn and they have spread well. Some fruit has grown, not very big but should go OK. How ever we have had  couple of frosts so today I picked some of the squash and put them indoors. They are still green so I wonder will they ripen and go the colour of the shop bought ones?  Have I done right or should I have left them? Do you think they will ripen? Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks

[saddad]

Bringing them in was the right thing... once the frosts have arrived they would soon rot, may still do over the next week if the skins weren't hard enough, and it's usually the change of colour that protects them a little... if the show any signs of rotting you ill need to do a quick soup job!

[Obelixx]

It's a bit late in th eyear for them still to be green and I dubt they'll develop much flavour even if they do ripen.

They do best in full sun so I grow mine up supports such as obelisks or trellis to get the fruits into the sun, even here in the sunny Vendée but essential in my last  garden in Belgium which, like most of the UK, gets far fewer sunshine hours.   They also like a lot of water and regular feeds or a very generous dollop of well-rotted horse manure at planting time.