Butternut Squash questions???

[kt.]

Today I got 5 butternut squash plants 8 inches high to try. I have never eaten squash let alone grow it. Questions to the panel are:

1)When would it be ready for harvest if transplanted later today into manure.

2) What about size & spacing?

3) Is it one squash per plant or similar to courgette?

4) Any maintenance or disease problems likely?

[kt.]

[carolinej]

I planted a squash plant into well rotted manure and it died within days, so my advice is dont do it till someone who knows more comes along who can tell you if it is OK. It would be a shame to lose them.

[Jeannine]

4 feet apart, 3 possibly 4 squash per plant,straight manure will be too strong, and it is unlikely they will mature now unless the weather stays very warm and sunny for a long time. the avergae butternut takes 90  days from transplanting to mature which would bring it to November. Immature ones can be used as summer squash, XX Jeannie

[Sparkly]

I planted my butternut squash plants months ago - direct sowing in approx start of may. The kuri seeds which went in about 2 weeks before are doing great. The plant is big and has about 10 small fruits (up to about 4 inches in diameter). The butternut plants, on the other hand, are still small and no sign of flowering yet. Is this normal? or are my plants unlikely to grow in time?

[mc55]

my butternuts are miserable this year - cleared the weeds today and noticed just a couple of very tiny (ie just hatched) fruits.  Not sure what harvest I'll get.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Mine went out long ago, but since being underwater, they haven't grown at all.

[pigeonseed]

I've never had much luck with butternut squash either

This year I've grown summer squash, little pattypan ones and am getting 5 or 6 little fruits a week. The winter squash (marina di chioggia) - I've had one and there's another one on the way. So I wonder if these winter squashes just aren't as prolific as the summer squash bush varieties.

[Jeannine]

They are not as prolific at all. Depending on the variety you will only get from 3 to five fruits from a winter squash , but there purpose is storage which the summer ones won't do. They are better not picked at all until autumn.

Out of my collection of squashes which is way over 100 I have very few Butternut. I don't grow them unless I am sent a new one to trial. There are so many other squash that grow better and taste better.

XX Jeannine

[allaboutliverpool]

Last year I had 11 Butternut Squash from 2 plants, I assume due to the hot July.
This year as my wife loves them I planted 6 plants, again, all in frames. There are only 12 maturing squashes, dozens having rotted when small.
The sunshine of the last couple of weeks has meant that there are a dozen about 2 inches long.
I very much doubt that they have enough time to mature unless we have warmth and sunshine well into October.
I am sorry to say that plants that go in now are unlikely to succeed, but I am always willing to try- you never know!

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_squash_butternut.html

[real food]

Sad to say but Butternut squashes are so slow to fruit compared with Winter Squash. Some of my Winter Squash growing without protection, will soon be maturing, while the Butternuts still have to flower!, even though they are protected under plastic. They are also the latest varieties, claimed to be fast to mature. We will see!

[goldendaisy123]

I have grown butternut squash for the first time this year. I've got two butternut plants and between them they have produced about 8 fruits, all quite a good size with some small fruits just developing. How will I know when the fruits are ripe?

[dtw]

Do they make a hollow sound when you knock them? (like water melons do)

I'm growing them for the first time this year too, only a couple of very small fruits so far.

[Jeannine]

Just leave them till the plants die off if you want to store them, that is how they are when you buy them in the shops. You can pick them as immature fruits anytime they are big enough and use them as courgettes