2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!

alicef

ArbitraryRandom said:

Am I too late to start squash now (North West)? 

I've just been given a packet of Harrier (Butternut) squash, and I think the seeds would be good until next year but if I could have something from my garden this autumn that would be fab  

If they'd do okay, then is it as simple as I spread out an area of my compost and keep it watered/weed free? 

Hello @ArbitaryRandom

I would go with something like Uchiki Kuri (Japanese Onion squash) rather than butternut.  I find that butternuts ripen a lot later, whereas the Uchiki ripen well in colder climes.  They also store really, really well and are delicious!

alicef

@Suffolk_Lass - your kitchen garden looks lovely! I'm very impressed with the rabbit defences, we had to put rabbit fencing around all of our veg plot when we first came, though I haven't seen any rabbits for a while - I guess myx came through and depleted the population - or else I don't get up early enough!
Are your arches made from rebar?  My OH makes plant supports for me from rebar and they work really well.  

ArbitraryRandom

alicef said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

Am I too late to start squash now (North West)? 

I've just been given a packet of Harrier (Butternut) squash, and I think the seeds would be good until next year but if I could have something from my garden this autumn that would be fab  

If they'd do okay, then is it as simple as I spread out an area of my compost and keep it watered/weed free? 

Hello @ArbitaryRandom

I would go with something like Uchiki Kuri (Japanese Onion squash) rather than butternut.  I find that butternuts ripen a lot later, whereas the Uchiki ripen well in colder climes.  They also store really, really well and are delicious!

That sounds like a lovely thing to try, maybe next year? 

For now I'm trying to decide what to do with the seeds I've just been given unexpectedly

I wasn't planning on growing anything this year really (well nothing more complex than strawberry and nasturtium!), but this kind person has given me several mint plants, some comfrey (the non seeding kind?) and these butternut squash seeds... 

alicef

@ArbitraryRandom - Harrier are meant to have a short ripening time, so give it a whirl.  I'm in the midlands and we still have cold overnight temperatures so I sow into pots even now,  but if your soil is warm then plant direct.

You could always hold back some of the seed for next year.  Squashes need regular watering and good soil.  

ArbitraryRandom

I've just been reading about training them to climb... which sounds exciting (including using knickers to cradle any large hanging fruit!). But maybe a step too far this year

I think I might plant two (90cm apart?) and see how we go from there. Good practice for next year if nothing else  

Suffolk_lass

alicef said:

@Suffolk_Lass - your kitchen garden looks lovely! I'm very impressed with the rabbit defences, we had to put rabbit fencing around all of our veg plot when we first came, though I haven't seen any rabbits for a while - I guess myx came through and depleted the population - or else I don't get up early enough!
Are your arches made from rebar?  My OH makes plant supports for me from rebar and they work really well.  

@alicef, thanks, the corners of the beds have fencing steel pins like these on most beds. The panels are roof battens I picked up for free on FB MP, and a roll of tennis netting, stapled to the rectangular panels.

Ours arches are plumbers' 15mm copper pipe, with the part that is in the ground painted with red oxide paint, to stop any metals leeching into the ground. DH (metalwork teacher) improvised to bend one piece and then that became the top of each arch (connected to two verticals) we bought some but had some leftover off-cuts too. If you can't bend the pipe, corner connectors and three pieces, jointed together would work fine. I bought some netting from big river like this (4mx4m) which runs diagonally from where the plant is (3 to a bed) up and over the arch and tied in on the other side. No need for knickers here @ArbitraryRandom with this netting  .

We spread well rotted manure over each bed that is cleared in late autumn (we leave the runner bean tubers in until spring so they add their nutrients back into the soil) and then a 75L bag of multi-purpose compost in Spring under the cardboard that then keeps the weeding easy. I am terrible at feeding squash once they are in the ground. I generally grow three plants, harvest at least a sack full and I pick them as soon as they start to look yellow, not the traditional colour - and so they are not too big to use. I like them no bigger than a galia melon or they are too big to use without freezing more than half.

I don't plant out our butternuts from pots until our potatoes are harvested next month (end of June), so in my opinion, you could plant a seed in a 9cm pot of compost indoors and germinate it and grow on to good root-filled pots now, ready to go in the ground in a month's time.

ArbitraryRandom

Thanks, that's really helpful  

sammy_kaye18

I am just looking for a bot of advice now the weather is starting to warm up. 
I have managed to sort shade etc for when the weather is really hot and protecting my greenhouse but I am thinking now about water. 

Does anyone know if I would possibly be able to convert an 80ltr unused bin into a water butt or rain water collection of some sort? I have it spare after I brought one to use for kitchen waste and wondered if it would be any good. It has a lid as well. Anyone have any ideas?

Farway

sammy_kaye18 said:

I am just looking for a bot of advice now the weather is starting to warm up. 
I have managed to sort shade etc for when the weather is really hot and protecting my greenhouse but I am thinking now about water. 

Does anyone know if I would possibly be able to convert an 80ltr unused bin into a water butt or rain water collection of some sort? I have it spare after I brought one to use for kitchen waste and wondered if it would be any good. It has a lid as well. Anyone have any ideas?

Sounds simple enough with a spot of plastic DIY gutter kit, maybe a drill & a hacksaw

Got a picture of it & intended location?

ArbitraryRandom

You might want to think about a tap and stand - not that you need either, but it means you can get most/all of the water out without risking falling in! 

A few breeze-blocks might make a base, and you can pick up a waterbutt tap for less than £10? Maybe grab some shower sealant at the same time, just in case.