butternut squash

jules42

good morning everyone

I have grown butternut squash plants from seeds taken directly from a bought butternut squash , wasnt sure if they would grow but thought i would try ( yes my life is that boring ) i now have lots massive plants in the garden which are taking over everywhere but no sign of any butternut squash , should i dig them up and compost them or leave alone to see if any fruit will appear ??

thanks Jules x

katiel

My butternut squash is from bought seed and the fruits are only just appearing now. I have pinched out most of the tips now I have a few fruits appearing in the hope the plant will put more effort into bulking up the squash rather than climbing the fence and leaving the premises

jules42

thanks katie x

Davesnave

This highlights the problem with growing from seeds that may not be particularly suited to the UK and which may have hybridised. They were free and they've grown, but......

Nevertheless, they should still produce something. It might not look like the butternut squash you bought, but it will be edible.....when it comes!The question is, can your garden cope while you wait to see what happens? I don't think I'd give it more than another few weeks, if they've been in a decent amount of time.

As a guide, my butternut squashes went into the garden as pot raised babies in June, and by July's end I'd stolen a few to use as courgettes. Now I'm leaving them, and the biggest is about the size of a football. Like you, I'm finding that they're wandering about all over the place, but I've a field next door, so I can send 'em that way if all else fails! No idea how many squashes there are in there altogether, so it should be fun finding out when the frosts come.

jules42

thanks dave, I am new to growing things and even if they dont produce any fruit i have still loved growing my babies from seeds to now triffid like plants, I am going to leave them be for the next few weeks and see what happens x

markandkate

I love grwoing BNS as they cover the ground so I don't have to worry too much about weeding but they can get a bit invasive and its hard to see how these little plants that you put out in June will spread so far. Mine are just starting to produce some decent sized fruits now but you do need to keep feeding them.

One I have picked mine I put them in the green house for a couple of weeks to dry out and ripen a bit

jules42

a little update as today has been the first nice day for what seems like forever i had a good look at my BNS and they have started to produce fruit yay , thanks for all your help x

irishwexford

I always grow my squashes in mini greenhouse before planting out and I have 11 on allotment which are taking over the paths as well as everything else. Some are massive now but wondered when to pick them. I did read somewhere to cut them about two inches from stem and leave to harden off. I must have at least six ready with about fifty more to come. Freezer is already full with courgette soup (and still they keep coming). Will have to ask someone on allotment if they are ready to harvest.

One_Day_Rodney

I'm growing BNS for the first time using seeds harvested from a supermarket bought fruit.
I've now got little fruits forming :j

While searching on 'how to grow' BNS I stumbled across really good website documenting some of the pitfalls and tricks for growing squashes.
It's by an allotmenteer called George Cook and tracks the development of his patch in Liverpool.

His main site can be found here...
http://www.allaboutallotments.com/index.html

His full blog on squashes c/w photos can be found here...
http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_squash_butternut.html

It's good reading

Primrose

I no longer grow winter squashes because they take up too much room but did find that they always seemed to be very late developers and it was usually end August before even small fruits developed. They don't like cold nights so you may find that slows their development and generally the plants are too sprawling to cover with fleece to protect them.