dying butternuts

[SlugLobber]

Thanks for that, Two Sheds. Mine is also the size of a fist and whilst out of the wet ground, I didn't think of cutting back the plant beyond that prize squash!

[marigold007]

Yes, thanks Two_Sheds! I was growing three vines in a circle so it was crazy trying to find the end of the vine,but luckily, the two aforementioned butternuts were fairly close to the primary roots of just one vine so I was able to get rid of a lot of the leaves. I now have 5 little butternuts. I'll have to go read that other thread to see if I can throw them in a soup!

[Protea]

Its been a terrible year (again) for squashes and pumpkins - we've not had enough sun to ripen them properly and the rain has encouraged rotting earlier than usual.

It is true that they wil die down naturally at this time of year but powdery mildew (not usually downy mildew) tends to come in around August time and starts to cover the leaves with a fine white powder. if left untreated this will cause the leaves to die back quicker than normal and therefore reduce the amount of ripening time for the fruits.

Even the varieties bred for the UK climate (Hunter, Hawk etc) are struggling this year - its not been a good year at all.

Sound fruit picked now might ripen fully in store but may not have the same depth of flavour as those ripened on the plant. Putting something dry under the fruits will lessen the rotting on the ground but i've never found straw to be that effective (reccomended in a book i read), mats or board might be more effective, i don't know.