I bought a pack of seeds from Unwins on an impulse purchase 'cos my other half really likes the taste!
Interesting instructions about planting in heated environment and covering pots with cligfilm until germination.
Anyone got experience of this method to feed back? It's a new one on me - but maybe it's something everyone else has been doing for years!
Alastair
I listened to an edition of Veg talk a few weeks ago and Gregg and Charlie said not to bother as they are not suited to our climate which may explain your instructions. I am going to try and grow some this year as well - my instructions aren't that involved. I am just going to treat them like any other winter squash and hope for the best. Not putting all my eggs (squashes) in one trug so to speak. I will be germinating next to a radiotor but your instructions are only like planting in cells and covering with a lid. I won't be covering as I do not want them keeling over from fungus before I get a chance to uncover.
I grew Avalon F1 last year and it was a huge hit. Loads of fruit and they were massive compared to the examples you see in the supermarket.
Sowed in pots and placed in the airing cupboard until germination. As soon as they showed their Head they were moved to a warm greenhouse and grown on until frost were a thing of the past. (Sow the seed on thier side, sitting on an edge, and check for germination 2 or 3 times a day at day 7.)
Then planted out into very well manured soil.
As soon as flowering started I helped the pollination along with a soft paint brush.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/sandersj89/Butternut.jpg)
HTH
Jerry
:o :o WOW jerry superb pic, that's encouraging! Note to self: Must Try Harder ;D ;D
There are indeed problems with Butternut Squash, getting them to produce fruits. I produce lots of Winter Squashes every year, but I have still to get an edible size of Butternut.
From what I have now read, Butternuts take much longer to reach maturity than Winter Squashes. I am going to try to grow them again this year, with the variety "Sprinter", which it is claimed does well in our weather conditions, cropping early.
We shall see!!
Hi all, :D
One point not mentioned on this topic, when to sow ??? I would not think about sowing any squash varieties until the end of April, don`t forget they should not be planted out until mid to end of May. I cover my 3" pots with cling film & remove it when the seedling appears, I had no problems with this method on 4 different types last year.
Adrian.
I grew them one year and on 4 plants i had 43 good sized fruits !!!! then i didnt know what to do with them all ;D
Im going to try growing them like i do my courgettes and summer squash and that is up on a frame.
I use cling film on quite a few of the seeds i sow in pots just watch the condensation.
The first year I grew butternuts I had loads - last year, none. But they are definitely worth persevering with no matter what Greg and Charlie say - so long as you've got the space! ;D
The Organic Gardening Catalogue has a variety derived from Butternut which is suited to the UK climate - Cobnut. I am trying these with crossed fingers. If the flavour is anywhere near as good as crown prince then I will be delighted.
I grew butternuts last year and got about 6 small squashes. Size was perfect for me being as I'm the only one eating them :-) Still have 2 left in storage.
Can't remember time of planting or anything useful I'm afraid, I seem to remember planting them directly outdoors under bottle cloches when it was warm enough because the ones I started off indoors were eaten by slugs!
Will definitely be growing more of them this year as they keep so well.
Hi Thomson AS
I would go with the comments here and ignore 'Gregg and Charlie'.
I've grown them with good results, they just need a well manured site and space to roam.
...and they are normally so reliable ;D. One of my favourite radio shows is Veg Talk.
Thanks for advice,
More by luck than judgement I did ok last year with squashes, pumpkins and courgettes in the Midlands . Slugs destroyed about 60% of planting but I managed decent crops from the rest!
Will post updates on this board about planting dates so you can share in my failures and (perhaps) success -but I think tha this weeekend, I'm going tostart sticking pots into seeds!
I grew butternut sqaush last year (2005) but I can't remember which variety (they were free with 'grow your own' or 'kitchen gardener'). I started them in the greenhouse (heated) and had 100% success with germination. From these I selected 24 of the healthiest looking plants and planted them on my lottie. I planted them 4 feet apart in 3 rows also 4 feet apart. I was concerned that they wouldn't produce anything as they took quite a while before they flowered, which they eventually did at the end of july. They then went on to produce sqaush from every flower! I ended up with an average of 5 fruits per plant! When I harvested them, I laid them in my greenhouse for a couple of weeks to harden the skin and then put them in a cupboard in my greenhouse wrapped in an old blanket, where they happily stored until Christmas, being used or given away weekly. Unfortunately the succumbed to a kind of mildew by the end and I had to throw away about 10 which had gone 'manky'.
I will be growing them again this year, but not so many, and this year I will store them without the blanket, which i think was the cause of the fungal problem because it got a bit damp and the squash then seemed to sweat.
There is hope then stormin ::), great growing diary, thank you. Welcome to A4a, look forward to more of your posts! ;D ;D
Having read and absorbed the responses to my original posting, I decided that the thing to do was wait - so my Buttnernut squashes went in today.
The crop I tried just a little earlier in the year for 2006 was sweetcorn - having had some beginner's luck in 2005!
I'm sure a lot of the business of timing is as much an art as a science unless you're really deeply into weather forecasting!
Alastair
I have posted my results of sowing my squash and pumpkins seeds in the pumpkin section and use exactly the method you mentioned Alaistair, in your first post. Mine seem to be very receptive to that way of germinating. I have had 5 hearty seedlings through in the last few days and I only sowed the seeds last Tuesday. busy_lizzie
Planted seed from supermarket bought fruit last year, only got 3 or 4 fruit on each plant but they were huuuuuuuge
If you can grow courgettes you can grow Butternut,I grew the variety Cobnut last year and they were good. You can grow them interplanted with sweetcorn and I have also had success planting to one side of the runner beans and letting them ramble through the bottom.The biggest ones I've seen were grown by a friend who let them go through the bottom of his raspberries!
I,ve found they store better in a dry,airy place,the only year I stored them in the greenhouse I lost some to rot and I think it was because of the constant changes in temp.and the resulting condensation.
Do not save your own seeds though unless it's the only variety for miles as they are devils for cross pollinating with the rest of the squash family.
I find that squashes of all sorts keep ok in net bags hung up, I think that fairly dry conditions and good air circulation is the key to keeping them longer.
Question!
Is it better to grow them vertically (cordons) or along the floor ?
This is my effort two years ago;
(http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Pics/Squash(6)/Squash%202.jpg)
Last year was a failure hence my question
This is how mine look this morning;
(http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Misc.Photos/Pics/Curcs.JPG)
Somehow I have been given some Acorn squash, from where I can't recall ????, my question is ; are they edible?
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 01, 2006, 12:00:34
Somehow I have been given some Acorn squash, from where I can't recall ????, my question is ; are they edible?
Indeed they are TG, and delicious ;D
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 01, 2006, 12:00:34
Question!
Is it better to grow them vertically (cordons) or along the floor ?
This question seems to have been missed, can anyone answer it?
Never managed to get any of either so I don't bother. Pumpkins and crown prince are my choice. Fester, a new pumpkin was very disappointing, lots of large fruit but very watery flesh and didn't store as well as my older varieties.
:-\
i had one germinate and i stuck it in among my sweetcorn - it went for about 10 feet and produced several small fruits. it had no love and no watering as i didn't expect much, that was in north east england. i germinate all my squashes in heat, covered with plastic bags and get good results. this year i am doing butternuts, twonga and uchiki kuri - all growing up supports as i don't have as much space.
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 01, 2006, 12:00:34
Is it better to grow them vertically (cordons) or along the floor ?
I have done it both ways. They seem happy to scramble or grow up canes or nets - the stem seems to thicken up to support a surprisingly heavy fruit. If you have slugs, or are short of space, consider vertical - if not, they were born to scramble. When growing along the floor I put fruits on a slate or stone to avoid rot or bug bites. IMHO it's easier to spot the flowers when you grow them vertically if you want to hand pollinate, but it's more bother tying if you only use canes, or constructing a commando net for them to scramble up ;D