Allotments 4 All

I know there's a miniature butternut and I'grown the small harlequin Festival, but is there a mini buttercup?... or a |Hunnard smaller than Uchiki Kuri?

I won't have the space to devote to squash next year, besides which, I live on my own, 55 squash plants is silly, especiually when some of them are brutes like Lunga di napoli and Bon-Bon.....

chrisc

Chris, Orange Cutie  is a mini buttercup at just over a pound


For another mini type I would suggest

Sweet Dumpling at 1 1/2 llbs.Bush with 8-10 fruits. One of my favourites.



There is a real mini butternut Honey Nut just about 4 inches long, which I am told is excellent but I haven't personally grown it, might be the one you have tried.

Another one that I have been tempted to try is Mini Turban, unlike it's bigger brother it is reputed to have excellent eating qualities and have been wondering about it a couple or so years, might be worth a try.

How small do you want them, there are quite a few less than Kuri at about 3 pounds
XX Jeannine

Butternut squash keeps very well after harvesting. In fact even after cutting one in half and using one half, the other kept in the salad crisper in the fridge for a week and it was not at all weary, so I would suggest that it would have kept for longer.

So, may be you do not need to grow smaller ones at all, just chop off some as needed?

We grew bonbon last year so have only grown the one this year and it has been put out of the way of anything else so that it can gallop along

Chris, do you mean you want the plants themselves to be small, or the fruit or both?

I've got a row of Bonbon at the front of my neighbour's plot, growing up canes.  I think I'll have to do a Bangladeshi-style frame for them because they'll be at the top of the canes in a day or two and I don't want to cut the ends off.

The bonbon I grew last year took over the whole frame. There was no room for anything else.

I've grown (and am growing) Bonbon.... the plant's a thug (so it's getting the wedy scruffy bits :D) but that doesn't bother me too much, a single bloke with an  allotment and a big garden isn't stuck for space, it's cos  the fruit will feed six with roast squash being a major veg in the dinner.....

I like the idea of Orange Cutie, and yes it was Honey Nut I'd heard of, saw Sweet Dumpling last year on another plot and thoiught they were just too big.... I've got some Turks Turban in this year for decorative purposes really, but and edible mini one sounds intriguing..... IIRC I've also get Baby Bear..... someone told me there's a mini white pumpkin too (Baby Boo?)

chrisc

Quote from: chriscross1966 on July 15, 2010, 00:51:45
I know there's a miniature butternut and I'grown the small harlequin Festival, but is there a mini buttercup

Yes there is.  Bush Buttercup 'Discus'

Real Seed had it but it is not in this year's catalogue.
Available in the USA from Territorial Seeds:
http://www.territorialseed.com/product/1110/221

This one is the size of a courgette plant.

Hi Galina, it is only the plant that is small on Discus the fruit itself is normal size, about 4 llbs..

Chris, Baby Boo is quite a neat little pumpkin I grow it alongside Jack be Little,same size, although I think the flavour of Jack be Little is nicer of you want them to eat. However I do enjoy growing both of them every year.

I don't understand about  the neighbour that says he has a Sweet Dumpling,  this is one I have to grow every year and have done for a long time, it is a staple here. It just doesn't get bigger than a large grapefruit.Never more than 1 1/2 llb in weight. I  slice them in half, stick a dollop of butter in each half and microwave them ,each half is just the right size for 1 person.

XX Jeannine

I'm growing a couple of Little Gem Rolet, which is a surprisingly tiny squash plant, about a foot and a half long with about 4 fruits set on it already.  In fact the first one I sowed was so small and weedy looking in its pot that I gave it up for a dud and left it outside without any water in the cold for 3 weeks, but it was determined to survive so I gave it a chance and now it's thriving.  

I'm thinking these are tiddly, one person, squashes.

1066 recommended that one to me and gave me seeds, it's one of her regulars.

Useful thread for me too, this one - thanks for the other recs.

This is my row of bonbons which I thought would make a nice screen at the front of a neighbour's plot.

from the front -
[attachment=1]

and from the back -
[attachment=2]

They've got leaves the size of dustbin lids and look like they are going to pull the whole frame down soon.
Like an idiot, I thought that because Bonbon are a reasonably small squash, the plants would not be too big.  I was wrong.

My husband is going to build another frame behind them, Bangladeshi style. I't a good thing my neighbour is very tolerant!

Quote from: Squash64 on July 16, 2010, 16:19:38
This is my row of bonbons which I thought would make a nice screen at the front of a neighbour's plot.

from the front -
[attachment=1]

and from the back -
[attachment=2]

They've got leaves the size of dustbin lids and look like they are going to pull the whole frame down soon.
Like an idiot, I thought that because Bonbon are a reasonably small squash, the plants would not be too big.  I was wrong.

My husband is going to build another frame behind them, Bangladeshi style. I't a good thing my neighbour is very tolerant!

I thought I'd mentioned how rampant they were last year?.... It swamped out a couple of Uchi Kuri's...

chrisc

Quote from: Jeannine on July 16, 2010, 06:48:47
Hi Galina, it is only the plant that is small on Discus the fruit itself is normal size, about 4 llbs..
XX Jeannine

Yes indeed.  However since Chris also said 'I won't have the space to devote to squash next year', I suggested Discus because it occupies less space.  Sorry if I misunderstood.

Small fruited and tasty and keeping well for a few months are the acorns.  C pepo Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato from Real Seed and c pepo Tuffy from Johnny's Selected Seeds in the USA are my favourites:
halfway down the page:
http://www.realseeds.co.uk/wintersquash.html
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7691-tuffy.aspx

For a bush sized and small fruited squash that can be used as a summer squash or stored as a winter squash, there is c maxima Zapallito de Tronco from the Organic Catalogue
http://www.organiccatalogue.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1595

Quote from: chriscross1966 on July 16, 2010, 17:43:38

I thought I'd mentioned how rampant they were last year?.... It swamped out a couple of Uchi Kuri's...

chrisc

If only I didn't have a memory like a sieve I would have remembered that!

I think I will have to untie some of them (there are nine!) and let them rampage across the ground and just leave maybe 3 to climb.  Do you think that would work, or would 3 be too many?

Zapallito Del Tronco. This is a real find and is actually a variety of Winter Squash, Cucurbita Maxima. It is usually used when young and still light green, as a Courgette or even as a Cucumber. The consensus view is that when used as a Courgette, it is better tasting than a standard Courgette. In the areas surrounding Buenos Aries in Argentina, it is an important commercial crop when it is used while still young and tender.

If allowed to mature on the plant and harden off, it will store and keep till the following Spring. After storage, the skin can be peeled with a potato peeler, seeds removed and pan fried.

As It is a very large bush plant, allow 1 sq m. It should produce about 10 cannonball sized fruits.
The above are my notes, but I would add that when stored and used as a squash they are a bit bland and only slightly sweet.

"Honeyboat" is very restrained in size and growth habit and doesn't send out long runners compared to butternuts, Crown Prince, Queensland Blue, Sunshine and Confection= this year's other attempts.
Our Honeyboats have about 3 fruits per plant and are much smaller than the standard
Butternut (so far), more like the size of a butternut's neck with stripes green and yellow (or maybe they're white stripes.)
I can take a pix of the size plant if you want.  Have yet to learn how well it keeps- I believe I heard it doesn't keep as long
as butternut but not sure. (The Squash Officiando would know. You-Hoo, Jeannine!)

Hi Grannie,bit confused here, Honeyboat is a delicata squash not a butternut are you confusing with the mini butternut I suggested fro Cris which was Honeynut.

Anyway your Honeyboat used to be called Sugarloaf, I have no iwhy the name was changed as the fruit didn't but...just to upset my data base I think LOL

It will grow to about 1 pound tops, good one for Chris too of he likes Delicata , same family as the Sweet Dumpling at about 1/2 a pound. not 1 1/2 as I said, (writing long hand now to avoid the same mistake.

Regarding keeping, I have never had a problem keeping them through to Easter, I usually use the smaller ones first  as they don't store as much as the real biggies,but I think a lot depends on how they are cured and stored and I find Easter is plenty for me.

Chris, while looking for picture for Grannie Annie I found one in mt files I had forgotten about, Baby Delica,, it is a baby versuon of Delica(not Delicata) delica is a Kabocha type. It only grows to 5x3 inches but does grow to a bot more than 1 pound.

Left is Honeyboat, Right is Baby Delica

XX Jeannine

 :-[  Oh rats! I was trying to say the Honeyboat squash looks like the neck of the butternut in size but I see I wrote
the word Butternut instead instead of Honeyboat.  Maybe the heat is getting to me

Yes, the picture you posted at the bottom looks like Honeyboat.

I'll get off now before any more blundering around.

You've got nine Bon-bons?.... Time to wave goodbye to Birmingham folks, you won't be able to find it on Google Earth come the end of August :D

Is there any way to brace the structure at all?... I had it growing down my boundary fence last year and it was happily tying fruit to the chickenwire.....  the plants don't weigh too much really but the fruit are heavy, if you can individually support the fruits with say some 2x2 stakes with a piece of chickenwire nailed on (hany sized) so that the tendrils have something to cling to it should take the weight...

Quote from: Squash64 on July 16, 2010, 18:10:52

Quote from: chriscross1966 on July 16, 2010, 17:43:38

I thought I'd mentioned how rampant they were last year?.... It swamped out a couple of Uchi Kuri's...

chrisc

If only I didn't have a memory like a sieve I would have remembered that!

I think I will have to untie some of them (there are nine!) and let them rampage across the ground and just leave maybe 3 to climb.  Do you think that would work, or would 3 be too many?

Quote from: chriscross1966 on July 17, 2010, 01:50:47
You've got nine Bon-bons?.... Time to wave goodbye to Birmingham folks, you won't be able to find it on Google Earth come the end of August :D

I'm starting to feel a bit scared now!  ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: chriscross1966 on July 17, 2010, 01:50:47
Is there any way to brace the structure at all?... I had it growing down my boundary fence last year and it was happily tying fruit to the chickenwire.....  the plants don't weigh too much really but the fruit are heavy, if you can individually support the fruits with say some 2x2 stakes with a piece of chickenwire nailed on (hany sized) so that the tendrils have something to cling to it should take the weight...
chrisc

Looks like I'm going to be the first plotholder with scaffolding on the plot. ;D ;D