A good year for squashes?

[weedin project]

After the last two years when I could barely get a squash seed to germinate  >:(   all of a sudden for no apparent reason they are all going ballistic.   Blue Prince, various courgettes, butternuts...... all coming up shockingly well.

I can see a few friends getting the "how rewarding it is to grow squashes" lecture and a few spare plants.

As if to further confuse the issue, dear old dad threw a few ornamental gourds into his compost heap last year and now we've recovered about two dozen assorted seedlings from there - goodness knows what they'll turn out to be. ;D

[weedin project]

[Jeannine]

Well that just blows the theory that squash need heat to germinate,these have done it outside all by themselves XX Jeannine

[saddad]

Or we have just had much more hot sunny weather this year than is normal by now..
;D

[glow777]

I have germinated mine without heat, just on a windowsill. I also put 2 seeds in each pot and now in most cases both have come up. Will have to donate some to the neighbours and if they dont want them Ill plant them on waste ground and see who nicks em

[Suzanne]

I think it is a mad year all round, I put two seeds of tomatoes, peppers, chillis, all my brassicas and now squashes into my modules, on thebasis that I get at least 25% non germination and in bad years 50%. All have germinated and now I have close to a hundred tomato plants etc.

I see a lot of giving away coming on! I don't know about anyone else but once they have germinated I can'r bear to compost them.

[glow777]

I see a lot of giving away coming on! I don't know about anyone else but once they have germinated I can'r bear to compost them.

trouble is everyone has spare seedlings so giving them away is hard.

[okra]

I agree Suzanne, its either give them away or try and squeeze them in somewhere and deal with the glut later - lots of freezing anticipated this year

[Robert_Brenchley]

They come up quite happily without heat. I've done it in the open ground under the bottoms of squash bottles before now.

[OliveOil]

I've done mine outside in plastic green house - took them longer than usual to come up but once they do - they grow like MAD!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Mine were started indoors, but are currently growing like mad in the mini-greenhouse.

[honeybee]

Mine were all started indoors too and are doing really well, so ive now moved them into the conservatory and what with everything else in there, its that usual time of the year when my conservatory becomes a very expensive greenhouse  ::)  :o