Butter nut squash or Sweet potato

[buncieblack]

Has anyone grown any of these two ?????, if so have you any tips on cultivation/care,sources of seed or plants etc.
Im on a bit of a healthy eating thing just now and both of these vegetables are great oven roasted for about 20 mins or so, so I thought I would give them a try on the allotment this year.

[nick the grief]

Sweet potatoes are tropical BB and need it fairly warm to do any good. They are grown from cuttings called Slips, T&M sell them (i think). All the folks I know that have grown them have used Polytunnels to get a long hot season for them.

As for Butternut squash see the seed swapI'm sure Shortie or Brable have some seed up for grabs & can tell you all about them.

[Shortie]

Not sure about Bramble but yup, I've got some (I really did go to town on the seed saving)...

Like ntg says check out thread in the swap shop as there's a link in there for the type I saved them from , and also notes on growing them. If you're still interested, let me know and I'll PM you my address so you can send me a SAE

[bramble]

No, sorry, I don't have any seeds of butternut squash.

[Jaxom]

I have some Butternut Squash seeds as well as some melon seeds if anyone wants some. They are nothing fancy I am afraid. I just collected them last year and dried them out. Whether they will grow fruit or not is another matter?
Jax

[blackkitty]

I've grown butternut fairly easily. The only problem is that they need just a bit more summer than there is, but if you start them off early in the greenhouse or indoors they do quite well. I grow them in containers or growbags.
They like lots of water and manure. The organic catalogue has a similar thing bred for Britain, I think its called a cobnut, but I haven't tried it. I usually use seeds from my dinner.
I've grown sweet potatoes in SA but don't know if the season here is long enough. We used to plant one and after a few weeks you get sprouts - similar to potatoes, you cut these off and plant them and they then grew new tubers. They need quite poor sandy soil and lots of sun.

[pigletwillie]

A good variety for use here is Butternut Sprinter. It matures a bit quicker allowing the fruit to mature.

[Nicos]

We grow butternut sprinter, and it didn't do very well last year. It was planted in a more shaded place than the previous year, and I wonder now whether we should have hand-pollinated it too. I didn't know you were supposed to do that to courgettes and always had plenty, but maybe it is advisable with all squash type plants??

[Shortie]

Hi Nicos

See my reply in the seed swap but I grow Butternut Sprinter and yes, I find it best to hand pollenate them

[Peter]

I usually grow about 5 rods of squash each year.

Top tips.
Lots of manure before carpeting the area.
Carpet to keep soil moist and weeds down, weed suppression membrane is not so good, plant through cut holes in carpet.
For watering add a bottomless 2L lemonade bottle, cap end down with a cane through, (to aid location once the leaves are up) next to each plant.

Best UK growing types.
Butternut of various types.
Crown Prince, F1 pumpkin type.
Delikata, mutated slug type.

All three do well and if left until the first frost then harvested that day, if not harvested they are then too visible to the "light fingered brigade" and vandals.
Really hot dry weather means lots of watering, however I normally just water during the establishing stage, once you have no visible carpet its best not to walk in as you will crush stems.

I try various other varieties each year, from growing, storing and eating perspectives.

CP is the best, flavour and texture are good, keeping 14 months is normal, yield is OK but fruits are large up to 6kg.
Delikata is good, flavour excellent, yield good, fruits small, storing OK.
Butternut/Cobnut, good flavour, good yield, good size though variable, storage not so good always get some start to rot in store.

All freeze quite well once peeled & chunked.

Hope I'm not telling granny how to suck eggs.

[buncieblack]

Thanks for all you advice etc,will let you know how I get on.

[Shortie]

Peter

I've not frozen squash before... do you just peel and chop before freezing or do they need blanching or anything like that first?

Also, is there an optimum time to freeze? I have Butternut Sprinter still stored from last year or are they too ripe to freeze sucessfully now?

Cheers

[Peter]

Shortie, generally its been when I wanted some squash for cooking and the next one to use was a bit too big to manage. I've just peeled, de-seeded, chunked, bagged and frozen. Six Kg is a bit much even for a family or four .
The types I use are low water content anyway, compared to marrow that is, and they seem fine for adding to stews etc, thought I have to confess I have not tried roasting any frozen chunks.
Regards, Peter.

[pigletwillie]

Hi peter, I am growing Crown Prince this year after seeing Chez`s crop and tasting the one she generously gave me. When do you sow yours?

[Peter]

Too late if truth be told.

As per packet and in a heated propogator.

In the garage, in the dark, checked twice daily and whipped out and onto a windowsill as soon as anything breaks the compost surface. Hardened off in a frame in the garden and off up the lottie when almost all danger of frost has gone.