I don't have much luck with butternut squash but this year I thought I was doing ok, not prolific but ok, then I checked yesterday and one reasonably sized one has a big split down it ??? can anyone tell me why and if I harvest can I still eat it?
It's possibly due to a long spell without water then getting plenty of it. It happens a lot with tomatoes. They dry out and when they get water the fruit inside swells and expands faster than the skin can grow and they then split.
I don't see why you couldn't eat it, most of the flesh should be OK.
My squash has loads of leaves and flowers, but none of the flowers have set to fruit, is this lack of sunshine, or another reason?
I think it's been due to the weather. Mine have been OK, more or less, where they've been in full sun. But I tend to undercrop other veg like sweetcorn with them, and that hasn't worked at all this year. I've ended up with a few pumpkins, and nothing else.
I haven't had much luck either 4 plants and only 9 squashes, still they are nice and big. Roasted half of one yesterday for Sunday dinner mmmmm!
Some of mine are only are just setting their second fruits! A little late methinks...
Ive had a great year 17 pumpkins from 5lb to over 30 and 26 varied winter squashes and a green butternut one over 40lb I just let them fend for themselves just pushing the growing shoots back on themselves when they started to invade!! and I didnt water them once!!
Quote from: ugly gourd on October 06, 2008, 16:46:21
Ive had a great year 17 pumpkins from 5lb to over 30 and 26 varied winter squashes and a green butternut one over 40lb I just let them fend for themselves just pushing the growing shoots back on themselves when they started to invade!! and I didnt water them once!!
well done :o what may i ask did you plant them into, homemade compost, manure or just the plain earth?
Just plain earth I didnt even get round to putting muck on it so it was pure luck squashs good this year but potatoes were awfull
I had a medium crop of squash this year, better than last year, but no where near as good as the year before. I grew more "Harrier" Butternut this year, the yield medium, texture and taste excellent.
These are still on two plants - 5 Butternuts and 1 ripe, three unripe Crown Prince.
Tricia
Quote from: ugly gourd on October 06, 2008, 19:22:25
Just plain earth I didnt even get round to putting muck on it so it was pure luck squashs good this year but potatoes were awfull
well double well done :).
this year i used a F1 variety and got 3 v.large fruit from two plants grown in lovingly prepared soil ::). but over the last 2yrs i was given 2 plants per yr from my neighbour, grown from saved seed out of a supermarket B/nut squash purchase and had 6 the 1st year and 8 last yr. granted they were generally a little smaller than the average shop buy, but they were just the right size as an ingredient for a single meal plan. and they were grown in newly cleared bramble soil, with only watering when i remembered :-\.
next year the plan is to just let a self seeded pair to do their thing when they rare their little selves in the designated squash patch. i discarded most of the self sown ones this year and what i gave away has, yes given smaller fruits but was more prolific. go figure i didn't keep any as i already had my f1 seedlings :-[.