Never done much good with B.S. but following advice on this forum earlier this year I bought Hunter butternut Squash seeds, and achieved the best harvest
yet. Fruits not huge but in plentiful supply.
I harvested carefully leaving 3-4" of stem on each fruit and placed on slatted staging in greenhouse (Was not to sure whether they were completely 'cured')
Came to inspect and where the stem joins fruit I have a lot of rot, the stem has gone mouldy and pulls away, and the fruit is rotting.
Can anyone tell me what am I doing wrong? :-\ was really looking forward to eating :'(
Sorry if this has been asked before have tried search engine but unable to find.
One of the following seems likely:
Harvested too early
Greenhouse too damp/cold, especially at night, for the squash to ripen properly.
Fruit seriously affected by rot bacteria before harvest.
The most likely one is the second one, especially true if you still have tomatos etc in there or are somewhere it's getting cold. I hardened all mine off in the conservatory ()at this time of year it has no other plants in and it doesn't get that cold) and they've all ripened up OK. If you had more than the odd 60mm long 2mm wide green stripe on them when harvested then it might be #1. If it was #3 then you got seriously unlucky...
chrisc
Hi Crisc, thank you for comments.
I think it would be combination of 1 & 2.
I was still watering toms in greenhouse - so will not do that again.
Last year I left them o/side and the first frost got them, so this year I harvested early Oct. to avoid this, so they may well not have been ripe enough, I don't think I am quite sure when 'ripe enough' is reached :-\ I thought they just had to be the orange colour but you are quite right I have got green lines don't think they are wide just like a pencil line.
Whoever said you just 'bung in the seed and forget about em'
Many thanks
that's just bad luck Susiebelle, you can save the crop for cooking in the future by cutting up the good parts into nice chunky pieces (IE large cubed pieces) and store in the freezer in a large container/ or ziplock freezer bag. then all you need to do when you want to cook them is take out how much you need, whether for roasting with other veg/ making or adding to soups and stews, etc.
when cooking from frozen don't thaw first just bung it into whatever pan/ or pot you are cooking your dish, this will prevent the pieces turning into one big soggy mess, for eg: if doing roasted veg prepare the other veges first then add your squash pieces, drizzle your olive oil, seasonings and herbs, then roast as you would normally do. for stews add the pieces near the end of your cooking time like in the last 10 - 15 minutes, this will allow the squash time to cook with out melting away and it should also stay relatively firm.
Quote from: Susiebelle on November 02, 2009, 17:19:53
Hi Crisc, thank you for comments.
I think it would be combination of 1 & 2.
I was still watering toms in greenhouse - so will not do that again.
Last year I left them o/side and the first frost got them, so this year I harvested early Oct. to avoid this, so they may well not have been ripe enough, I don't think I am quite sure when 'ripe enough' is reached :-\ I thought they just had to be the orange colour but you are quite right I have got green lines don't think they are wide just like a pencil line.
Whoever said you just 'bung in the seed and forget about em'
Many thanks
The problem with butternuts is their long growing season... it's just a bit longer than we normally get if we play safe.... next year I'll try getting them going earlier and try to get the plants out under frames over hotbeds by the start of May.... maybe even have an earlier couple too... late April has plenty of light, it just gets chilly at night sometimes.... if I can protect them from that then I can steal 4-6 weeks on the season.... TBF Waltham's even worse, I wouldn't have had a crop without the good weather in September
chrisc
thanks Thifismom-didn't think of freezing, thought it would go soggy so thanks for advice, thats what I shall be doing today!
I am hoping to put lids on one of my raised bed this winter so this should make ideal 'hot bed' for next year B.S. thanks for the inspiration Chrisc - much appreciated.
I recommend Tromba d'albenga. It is same latin name as butternut squash. Does not keep quite as well, but I hope to have it going until at least xmas. Huge fruit produces very freely and great flavour. You do not need to hack your way in. Ripens early enough in most summers. Though it did not do well the year before last. Does best if fruits kept off the ground eg it will ramble up a tree.
I will try and get hold of a few seeds Digeroo- thank you