Two or more seeds in same location

[Ricardo]

This is gonna be a dumb question but...
The seed pack on my Butternut Squash "Winter Waltham" recommended sowing two or three seeds in each location. This I did, and (surprise, surprise) they've all germinated.
Now - is the theory that planting two or three seeds to double your chances of success, or should you thin out the weakest of the two, or should you let two plants grow close together?
I have the same issue with Marrow seeds, which have both germinated successfully, and I can't see how marrow can grow two in the same spot.

[zazen999]

Why do they do this??? Oh, to sell you more seeds.

Just transplant the weaker one and if you are careful, you should get 2 growing.

[ricwiley]

I would try transplanting the weaker seedlings to grow them out elsewhere. I always grow mine in peat pots so I maximise the number of plants I can grow and then space them at 3ft. I also earth the soil up round each plant so that when watering, the water does not run away but is kept in place by the soil dam I have made. Saves water and benefit the plants. I also dig in plenty of manure so the roots have something to develop into.

Cheers

[chris]

I 'station sow' small seed, or something that isn't easy to germinate.. sqaush family wise I put one seed in a three inch pot (plastic), and when it's germinated pot on as required until it can be planted out.

that said, when I have ran out of pots I have bunged 4 (!) in a 3" pot.. I transplanted them all out fine though (trick is to get them before the roots get all tangled up together). They're growing fine on my plot now.

[Ricardo]

Thanks everybody - I need more veg plot space, everything is too close together already. Would squash grow in (large) pots or shallow raised beds?

[chris]

They are very greedy chappies.. You probably could grow them in large containers, but you'd need to keep on top of feeding it... Do you have a compost bin? A lot of people grow them in the top of these..

Alternatively, those jute bags for life... In Jan/Feb time, start putting your peelings in them (or any suitable container I guess - that can drain freely), keep topping the peelings/green waste up, top off with some compost and sow a seed (or two - to thin out ) on top. Someone posted about doing that here before. I tried it, it worked well until I accidently kicked the bag over and then crushed the stem.