Butternut squash

David_Aston

Self seeded from compost.
Profuse foliage which has climbed over the small kitchen garden wall, and is advancing towards the lawn. There appear to be a number of potential fruits, small corgette sized at the mo'. Could I ask, should I cut back extensively, and accept perhaps one or two squashes would be a freebie bonus? I should add that these fruits are on the concrete hard standing, over which the vegetable is marauding. None, in the bit of actual soil from whence it sprouted!

safestored4

You can cut it back as much as you like but if you have the space just lift up the shoots and point them in the direction you want them to go. I guide them along paths between raised beds at the allotment and aim to get 5 or 6 per plant.

andrewf75

They like a lot of feed, so depending on how much of that they get cut off some of the fruits when small to focus energy into the others.

David_Aston

Thanks for your comments guys. I have done a bit of googling. However, at the point where suggestions thereon are made to waft female shoots over male shoots, or is it vice versa, I thought I had better leave well alone!

Primrose

Just be aware that all these winter squashes are very promiscuous and do not always come true. You mayb end up getting a rather different type of butternut squash to its parent.

The other alternative is to fix some metal or strong plastic trellis into the earth with some stakes near the base root of the plant and gently tie it in. I would think three fruits would be the maximum you should allow if you want them to develop to any size if the plant is growing somewhere which hasn,t been well manured for the purpose.

Davesnave

In some years I've had around 80 of them and I'm sure I wouldn't have planted more than ten. I'd have manured, though.

Rogues often appear, even from bought seed. I have one at the moment which looks vaguely like the tromboncino types, but hopefully, not as elongated. I saw one of those over a metre long at a show last week!

Primrose

I've never eaten a tromboncino squash. Has anybody?
What is their flavour and texture like. More like a courgette I imagine than the firmer texture of a butternut squash.
I would imagine one of them would feed a family of four for a week !


They had some magnificent ones trailing over arches in the vegetable garden at RHS Wisley last summer which was the first time I'd ever seen that variety actually growing and realised what monsters they can become.

Davesnave

This is the one I snapped at a local show. Clickable.


(Don't think you're supposed to do that with the exhibits!:rotfl:)

Primrose

Crikey! Harden it off, wrap it in some cotton material and it would make a perfect door drought excluder !
Does anybody ever eat these things I wonder? . Still it's always exciting to expand your biundaries and try growing something new and different although I know one older lady who would totally freak out I left one of those on her door step along with some of my other surplus products.