A semi-retraction on the hanging of winter butternut squash

[GrannieAnnie]

Last year I hung all our butternuts with wire through the stems and had no problems with them dropping.

This year, a different story. Out of the whole crop (700+ lbs)  3 have fallen leaving their stems hanging above in the cellar rafters. The only difference between the two years that I can think of is I picked these a tad earlier in the Fall due to travel plans. You folks tend to have a shorter growing season and might have more of a problem. It is also possible that these have cross-bred with something else that isn't quite so stable :-\

[GrannieAnnie]

[saddad]

Were they still edible? Did they split on falling... some really hard squash are supposed to be easier to get in after being cracked by dropping!  ;D

[GrannieAnnie]

Were they still edible? Did they split on falling... some really hard squash are supposed to be easier to get in after being cracked by dropping!  ;D

Funny!  Yes they split when they fell. One good thing- I'd had an unusual for me forethought and removed the ones hanging over a stained glass window I'm building. You would have heard my howl clear from America if one had landed on that!

[allaboutliverpool]

Oct 14 2007 in my shed. No problems.
[attachment=1]
This year I  stored them in my unheated  conservatory and the frost got to them.
The best has been the attic.
[attachment=2]

http://allaboutallotments.com/Butternutsquash.html