First Time Butternut Squash attempt.

[Dynamite]

My Friend has just given me a Butternut Squash plant. He has never done one before and neither have I. It’s about two foot tall with a few flower buds. He grew it outside as he has no GH.

Should I pop it into my GH? I also get the gut feeling it’s a bit late. Any advice welcome.

Kind Regards.............Rob

[Paulie]

Hi Rob. I think you'll probably find that your gut feeling is right - it's almost definitely too late now to get a crop. Nothing to lose by planting it in ou greenhouse though.

[SarrissUK]

It is late in the day, but the greenhouse will be your best bet. You've not lost anything if you get nothing from it

[Snoop Puss]

It is a bit late, but you'll never know for sure if you don't give it a go. Definitely try it in the greenhouse and hand pollinate any female flowers that come along. Don't trust to pollinators doing it for you in the greenhouse.

Light levels make a difference, but so does temperature. When's your first frost?

[Can the Man]

Nothing lost, nothing gained, give it a go in the GH.

[Dynamite]

When's your first frost?

Nov 11th

Kind Regards.............Rob

[mcdood]

I can't really see you getting anything ripe from it this late but worth a try if you have the space. My advice would be once you have maybe 2-3 fruit starting to develop stop any of the other flowers/fruit to try and give them a chance to ripen. You say it's 2 foot tall so sounds like it is being grown vertically, you will need strong supports once the fruits develop.

[Snoop Puss]

This:
"Fruits are typically ready about 50-55 days after fruit set, and should be harvested before any hard frosts."
From here:
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-...formation.html

I agree with everyone else: you're unlikely to get any fruit, but what a sense of achievement if you pull it off. Good luck. Let us know how you do.

[burnie]

My plants are still producing flowers and I am still pollinating them, that said I do have 8 fruits in various stages of growth. Decent sized fruits can be ripened off the plant, I did a couple in our conservatory last year, just remember to leave some stem on the fruit when picking, you need a "T" shape apparently.

[Dynamite]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

Kind Regards.............Rob