butternut and jaspee de vendee

[queen of the cobs]

Hi,

Am planting these 2 types of squash this year - my question is, how far apart should I plant them so they don't cross pollinate? My maximum is probably about 15 feet apart, which doesn't seem very far.

[deezyb]

hi QotC - as you know I'm planting the same (grateful for the JdeV seeds)! I hadn't thought about cross pollination though?! I think I'm going to try mine in large pots, so at least I can move them to where I need them to be. However I had thought a couple could go in the ground! Would be interested to know what advice will be given from other Grapes.

[PAULW]

If you are growing them just to eat it will not matter how close they are together, if however you are planning to save the seed and want the seed to remain true I would suggest 4 London boroughs apart (ONLY KIDDING)
If you like to experiment grow the two together and save the seeds for growing next year, some will be one some will be the other and some will be a mix of the two, if this is not what you want you can always buy new seed each year.

[deezyb]

thanks Paul, makes life a bit easier if not needing to think about separating the plants that much

[bionda75]

If you do want to save the seed the best way is to hand pollinate a female flower and then tie an elastic band around the flower to keep it shut and prevent any bees etc. from contaminating it with pollen from your other type of squash. Then it should produce true-to-type seed.

The brilliant seed company Real Seeds Great Vegetable Seeds from The Real Seed Catalogue can give you a step by step guide to saving (all types) of seeds.