Butternut Squash Novice

[ryanguevara1983]

Hi folks, my first time on the Vine,

I started growing my own veg for the first time this year - never had a garden before!

Had a reasonably successful year. My butternut squash appear to be growing really well, lots of fruit. However, some of them are getting very big - will this detract from the taste? When should I pick them? Do I wait for them to turn the famous golden yellowy colour or is it safe to pick them before?

The seed packet gives loads of info about sowing - but not much about harvesting!!

Any info will be gratefully received!

[bramble]

Hi ryanguevara1983 and welcome to the vine. Afraid i can't help you with your butternut problems but am sure there are plenty who will. Hope you enjoy your stay on here with us.

[Shortie]

Hi ryan and welcome

My butternut sprinter grow one particularly HUGE squash last year - easily 3 times the size of the rest of the fruit it produced. Because of it's size, it was the last of the ones I ate from storage and it was just as sweet as the others. Might possibley take a bit longer to ripen fully (which is why I left that one till last to eat)

My understanding is that butternut squash are harvested in October (that's when I did mine last year and will do again year). I stored mine under the stairs in an open box with a covering of straw

[Curry]

I am growing a variety of butternut squash called cobnut, available from the Organic Garden Catalogue (I got my seeds from Ryton). I am also interested in knowing the 'best' harvesting time, since I presume cobnut would be lifted at the same time as conventional butternuts.

[Peter]

Considered advice.

Right, here goes I'll set myself up to be shot down.

I grow a variety of winter squash every year and have done for some years.

Size does not matter. In fact the bigger the better, shows a strong plant and good ground etc etc. The ones I see in shops make me smile, they are puny tasteless models. Butternut should be about 10" to 18" long.

The best advice on all of them is to leave them well alone until the first frost.
Then on that very same day hot foot it up the plot with the barrow and harvest the lot. Do not go by date, go by weather and growth.

The fruit needs maximum input from the plant and the plant virtually melts when frosted allowing total visability of all fruits. Unless they have scrambled into the fruit bushes, where I once lost a 4kg Crown Prince, found in spring, multi-coloured and half eaten.

Provided we do not go from current weather to sub-artic overnight the fruits should not take any harm.

Put them somewhere dry, sunny, but not too hot to allow them to "cure". The skin toughens up and , I believe, the fruit also develops more flavour and sweetness.

Also unless the skin is well cured the fruits will not keep well. I have in the garage three of last years harvest, still usable.

Advice I have seen from others is to prune leaves carefully to allow sunlight to fall on the fruit. As I have about thirty foot square squash plot with dozens of trailing plants I just let them get on with it.

[Shortie]

Cheers Peter, you've just answered all my questions about squashes (and some I didn't even realise I didn't Know!!

Totally agree with supermarket squashes. Was very proud and lughted aloud when in Tescos my little boy asked really loudly why there were so small in the shops

I'll leave them be to get on with it then. hadn't thought about leaveing the skins to toughen up.. makes sense though.

Cheers!

[Squirrel]

Thanks Peter - know what to do next year! Didn't realise that butternut could grow so big! Thought what was in the shop was the size they grew too!

Looking forward to putting a lot more butternut plants in next year. Grew mine in growbags this year - the vines crawled onto the ground and re-rooted and I have got lovely plants from the re-rooted onwards and rubbish from the growbag to there!

P.S. Can I manure for them now, leaving over winter, or should they have another crop on the manure first?

[Shortie]

Can I add another question to Squirrels...?

Where do squashes fit into crop rotation?

[ryanguevara1983]

Thanks everybody, that's a great help, looking forward to harvest time with no worries now!!

[nick the grief]

I'd put them with things like courgettes & Marrows in with the Legumes as they don't mind a rich soil being greedy feeders.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Thanks for the advice Peter - my only problem is everyone elses seem much bigger than mine! Is there anything I can do to encourage mine to grow? If I remember, they are the cobnut variety. Thanks in advance. dexterdog

[Peter]

Further target practice.



Rotation.
I treat them as my third year, thus.

1/. Spuds
2/. Squash
3/. Everything else.

over a fifteen rod growing area.

I manure heavily before planting the squash and lightly/selectively before "everything else" in areas where crops need it, e.g runner beans.

To save typing look in my blog, June Archive, Topic "Squashing them all in"
and
July Archive, Topic "Target Achieved Maybe?"

I hope to have some picture updates in the next week and will deliberatrly include one of the squash plot and maybe some close-ups if anyone is interested. Suffice to say the carpet & Plastic visible in the blog is obliterated by squash plants!


Best, and most dangerous, place I have ever seen for squash/pumpkins/marrows was when I worked on a mixed fram, one college summer break. One of the old boys on the farm (and they were old, all cloth cap, tweed jacket and dungarees) had to rescue his prize marrow one day before the rest of us could start work.
We were helping the contractors spread muck, from the pit behind the cow milking sheds. twenty to thirty foot deep at the deep end.
It was filled by a scraper on a tractor after milking finished, sloppy stuff.
The prize marrow was out on the middle of this quaking morass.

[dexterdoglancashire]

So Peter, thats what you suggest to get mine to grow bigger? dexterdog

[Peter]

Dexter, more **** always helps, even that from the adult male.




The classic courgette method, of dig a two foot cube hole, fill with manure, make a nine inch pot hole top middle, fill with potting compost and plant your seedling from three inch pot in that works wonders as well, but palls a bit when you have several dozen to plant.

Try the method illustrated on the blog.

[allotment gal]

I have grown squashes on my allotment for the past 3 years and they have been fine, big, juicy and delicious.

This year however I decided to try two different varieties (Barbara Butternut and Avalon) Well the Avalons are lovely green ones and I have no problem with them, but the Barbara Butternut ones are a different story altogether.

I have harvested quite a few now and each time I bring them in they get a small brown spot on the outer skin, which in a few days or even hours in one case grows bit by bit to cover over half of the squash.

It has no effect on the inside of the squash, all you have to do is peel it with a potato peeler and its gone, but what could it be?????? It looks like they are going rusty. Is it something I have done to them (exactly the same as all others ever grown) or could it be a problem specific to this variety?

Any advice on this problem would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks