Butternut Squash

[falkon]

Autumn is at the door steps, in about 14 days or fewer the night temperature will be below 4 degrees and the first frost will be there. My butternut squashes are however still not completely yellow, they just started to turn yellow. Is it ok to pluck them off before the frost, will they ripe afterwards.
?

[VirginVegGrower]

I've got only one that is a poor five inches in length...grrr. What a waste of growing space.

[Florence Fennel]

Has all the foliage dried up and died off Falkon? That's usually when you can take them off. I did this with some that were not quite ripe and put them in a cool dry place.

[reetnproper]

I've taken them off early before and they continued to ripen and still tasted yummy. I'm also umming and arghing about whether to take them off now or just leave them a tad longer. Today is a beautiful sunny though chilly day and this morning had a distinct nip in the air, so I'm now over 50% towards taking them off today but I'll see how I feel this evening .

The foliage is definietely starting to die back but there are still loads of flowers (primarily males though) open, opening and getting ready to open.

Reet
x

[falkon]

No foliage is still green(though some has dried up) but I am afraid of frost before the foliage dries up

[falkon]

I've got only one that is a poor five inches in length...grrr. What a waste of growing space.

plant them at the corner or edge of raised bed and let the plant grow on the non-growing space

[bearded bloke]

Could you put a clotch over them until the foliage dies back ?

[binley100]

My bns have been totally rubbish this year not got going at all . One plant has a diddy one on it .....well its too blummin' late on the other hand I have a lovely big blue hubbard and yellow potimarron ....I would cloche them for a while longer till the foliage dies off and the stem cracks .

[Thelma Sanders]

I'd leave them until a frost is actually forecast, cos the longer they can be on the vine, the better.

Have you any fleece that you can cover them with at night, to keep them cosy?

If you have to pick them they will ripen in a sunny window, but they won't keep as long as those ripened on the vine.

[horticultural_hobbit]

A wonderful curiousity, but a woeful disappointment. Never mind five inches, I had five centimetres before having to euthanise. Take a whole load of effort but do diddly squat. Can't say I'm feeling the love for BNS.

[reetnproper]

Try Cobnuts next year Hobbit, much easier .

No frost forecast so left them on tonight. The are getting very much more butter coloured and the green has virtually disappeared. I have to say that mine never hang around long enough to worry about longevity of keeping - far to scrummy although I do like to have a few around for Halloween to add to the decor

Reet
x

[horticultural_hobbit]

Might do, reef. Will double check the ones I have in my seedbox...

Winter cobnut F1. There's a bit of luck. Knew had two packets of seed for a reason.

[Two_Sheds]

I took a stroll round the whole lotty site y'day, and found one that had managed to grow good size BNS this year: it is the most southerly plot and has no shade at all

[Loudbarker1]

Mine have been very exciting - beginner's luck I expect. Harrier F1 (Thompson & Morgan) started in greenhouse and grown on in cold frames with plenty of water. One is biger than a rugby ball.

[jacob]

My bns didn't even flower this year (they're still alive, so I'm waiting for them to laugh at me in the next week or so). I'm not going to do them again in the same way (greenhouse April, then outside mid-June), but might either invest in a coldframe or even try them climbing in the greenhouse.

Need another greenhouse...

Anyway, on a more positive note I got a whole single pumpkin of a tolerable size!