What went wrong?

[Colin Miles]

The contrast between this
Harrier Butternut Squash

IMG_0152.JPG (62.84 KiB) Viewed 2966 times

and this
Crown Prince (Invincible)

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could not be greater. Both sown and planted out at the same time. Indeed, a couple of the 3 Harrier were partially protected by a cold frame (no lid). But it appeared to make no difference.

I had hoped that as Harrier was British bred it would cope with our climate. Maybe the low overnight temperatures that we have experienced in July, sometimes as low as 5C, may be the answer. At one stage, a few weeks ago, they did look rather better. Anyone any thoughts

[Nature's Babe]

You may be right, they are a tender plant, the younger leaves look OK, perhaps it will recover.

[Parsons Jack]

Doesn't look too happy does it.

I've grown 'Seeds of Italy' Butternut Rugosa this year, and they are really romping away
I planted 6 in a space approx 18ft x 8ft, with an 18 inch high debris net windbreak around them. They seem to have appreciated the shovelful of manure in each planting hole

[Colin Miles]

I have now dug them up, repotted - in peat - trimmed off the worst of the grot, brought them into the greenhouse and fed and watered them. Maybe they can go back out later if they recover, or even grow on in the greenhouse. 1 of them appears to have a fruit.

[John]

Hello Colin
The b'nut seems to have suffered a setback of some sort as the younger leaves are much healthier and appear to have started growing quite well.
I'm not quite sure how you have tried to grow them but they appear to be a bit crowded - can I see lettuce or cabbage nearby?
I allow my squash a good clear 6 foot wide bed in an open part of the veg plot. I draw the soil up to form a shallow ridge then plant down the middle. When planting out I dig out a hole about the size of a 10 litre pot and fill this with old potting compost or similar then add a good sprinkling of growmore. Squash are greedy plants and need something with plenty of nutrients in it if they are to flourish. As they get going I pinch out the main growing point to encourage branching then put straw under their growth. All this might seem a lot of faffing about but its worth it to get reliable cropping.
The real problem with squash is that because our season is so short for them you've got to get the sowing, planting and growing conditions right first time as there is no time available for a second chance.

Hope this helps

John

[Colin Miles]

The b'nut seems to have suffered a setback of some sort as the younger leaves are much healthier and appear to have started growing quite well.
I'm not quite sure how you have tried to grow them but they appear to be a bit crowded - can I see lettuce or cabbage nearby?

No - the younger leaves are not healthy. They were a lot healthier and the plants have regressed considerably - probably the lowish night-time temperatures. As for how they are grown, they would have plenty of space once they started to develop and their situation is no different from that of the Squash. Indeed the latter is fighting with potatoes - should have been lifted by now but rather late - and I usually intercrop items like lettuce.

[Nature's Babe]

I usually top the soil with a good layer of compost where I plant squash, then mulch with straw, it helps keep the plant moist and well fed, they do take a lot of space though. Last year I grew a couple of large squash vertically and trained them in and out of the balcony struts, it worked well and we had a lovely crop. Another self seeded in the potato bed, despite being crowded it romped away and accross 2 more beds - it was very productive. Sometimes they do seem slow at first then suddenly there is no stopping them.

[toffeeman]

On the subject of butternut squashes, I have them about 90cm apart as per instructions. Have a few cricket ball size squashes that appear to be doing well but notice that a couple have rotted away which were golf ball size. They don't look particularly vigorous. Have courgette plants in the same bed which look like something from the rain forest and are spectacular. Noticed one or two of the cougettes have begun to rot off at an early stage though. Any advice to get the best out of the squashes would be appreciated.