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I have one Hunter butternut which is now producing fruit. I only had a couple of seeds left from last year (last year was pretty much a failure due to late planting and poor weather), and this year just the one germinated. However, this one plant is now huge, sending out shoots all over the place. I could see lots of female flowers appearing, so have already pinched out most of the main and side shoots to stop it taking over the garden.
The packet says that it should produce 7-8 fruit, but already 7 good fruit have set, and today 3 more female flowers have opened, and there are perhaps as many as half a dozen potentially good looking fruit on the way behind them. So I could end up with as many as 15 or 20 fruit on this one plant! My question is, should I let them all develop and then just keep feeding the plant to make sure they all mature OK, or is this too many fruit for one plant to sustain? Should I pinch these extra females off now?
I also have 4 Sweet Dumplings and 4 Walthams which are further behind, but if they are as prolific as this I will be sitting on a squash mountain this winter!
The packet says that it should produce 7-8 fruit, but already 7 good fruit have set, and today 3 more female flowers have opened, and there are perhaps as many as half a dozen potentially good looking fruit on the way behind them. So I could end up with as many as 15 or 20 fruit on this one plant! My question is, should I let them all develop and then just keep feeding the plant to make sure they all mature OK, or is this too many fruit for one plant to sustain? Should I pinch these extra females off now?
I also have 4 Sweet Dumplings and 4 Walthams which are further behind, but if they are as prolific as this I will be sitting on a squash mountain this winter!
