in my continued and successful attempt to be laughed at a lot by the old timers down the lotties i am going to be growing outdoor cucmbers over an arch this year. I would like to grow a trailing/ climbing squash over another one but i don't know what varieties to look out for, can anyone recommend any?
thanks in advance
Jo
<grabs the organic gardening catalogue from the box under the desk> in the squashes section said "all have trailing habit except were stated" so, you could try the butternut ones, blue/uchiki kuri which are round little things, turks turban..... If you want, I can spare a couple of seeds of uchiki kuri if you pm me with your address (if you also fancy anything else as well - look at my seedlist!)
thanks multiveg, i'm so dim didn't even think of that! i shall peruse the catalogue later!
I'm going to try a climbing courgette which I found - it's called Black Forest F1. It doen't say on the packet how high it grows but by the look of the picture on the front it will be quite high.
It seems most will climb with a little gentle persuasion! You do have to help them to climb by twisting them in!
Butternut have to be my faves, followed by the others mentioned by Multi. If you need any turks Turban seeds PM me as I have loads left!
I think you need to read the seed packets, as to wether they are bush variety or trailers.
Oh and by the way, they have all been laughing at me for years for growing my squash up supports, but then, none of them grow squash! ;D ;D
Well, this should get them rolling in the aisles - it wasn't until I joined this forum that I realised they could grow as trailers!
We are growing one we bought the seeds in France - it is a green odd shaped trailing/climbing Gourd "pellerine" - just decorative though - I don't think it is edible?
While we are on the squash subject - what sort of yields can you expect from butternut / blue Kuri ? We love them - so don't mind having lots
;D
I'm growing them this year but I don't know what yield to expect. I'm not going to put them in til June as I've just been watching The Allotment DVD and on that a chap was saying that he did his in May and they weren't as good as a lady who did hers in June. I think they like to be kept warm and you can cover them with fleece if it gets cold, and keep them off the ground so they the fruits don't rot and it helps keeps the slugs off. We didn't fleece ours but we did get some low yields off the butternut types but the others were fine.
Bit of a thick question this one, but..
If you grow squash ie: butternut upwards, will the stems not snap, or are they like tomato trusses which never seem to snap??
I have butternut squash to grow and am wondering whether to grow as a climber or in compost heap ( Have never grown squash before).
Debs
i think the stems are built to hold the weight of the fruit.
go on Debs, grow them upwards - lets split Ken and Bobby's leaning on the fence and laughing between us!!
Your'e on ;D ;D
If you have 2 old bicycle wheels, 'The Allotment'
DVD recommends growing beans this way.
Spokes are removed and wooden post put in middle of wheel.
2nd wheel is fixed to top of the post and string tied to top & bottom all around perimeter of wheel.
Beans planted around string which then grow up string.
Recommended as a good space saver!
Debs
no old bicycle wheels, haven't even had any thrown over the fence!!
I've not got a bike wheel but I have got a broken whirligig which I think would look very nice :)
Can you grow the squash up both sides of the support i.e. adjacent to each other..... I can then have 4 plants instead of 2 - is that what you did Doris ? ???
Thinking I will have lots of old folks laughing at me as well. ;D
grew marrows up a garden fence once, the folks were'nt laughing though, they were aghast at the size of those things, hanging off my 7 foot fence. Squash will do the same, the stems compensate for the weight and they seem happier for it too - must be they know they are out of reach or something.
Am I mad thinking plants think?
now, where to get a cheap (read: free) arch from?
I'm growing turks turban and butternut but haven't grown any before.....I could grow them up my fence which is made of pallets, or the new fruit cage....5ft high and made from scrounged wood/netting/ doors from old aviary etc...but very sturdy, or up the bean post which do you all think would be best....I've just planted the seeds in 3in pots in the green house and am worried they won't come up because the seeds were expensive from the organic gardening catalogue and I've planted all 10
David R,
If plants can think then I'm sure they would think we're al mad.
Your fence must be pretty sturdy!
Nigella, mine go into a 4 foot wide bed, I dig a trench 1 foot wide and fill it with manure, top with soil, and then put 2 plants in. They then sprawl up the frame. Hope this makes senese!! DP
Thanks for all the info - this is a very helpful thread.
How many fruit would you expect per plant? Is it like melons where you should only allow a certain number to grow so that they get big? Also from a sowing now what sort of time would you expect to be harvesting?
Thanks in advance,
piglit
Even the "old boys" on my allotment grow their cucumbers up frames; it seems the standard thing to do.
I have grown squashes and cucumbers in with my pea and bean wigwams, and they climb up with the rest, given encouragement. Much better than taking up all that space on the ground.
Plants thinking? I grew a pumpkin up an 8' hedge and it did not set fruit until it reached the top, where the fruit sat comfortably growing larger and larger completely out of reach. Any laughter came when I finally decided to dislodge it, which was surprisingly difficult and embarrassing.