Kitchen Garden Forum

my butternut squash is doing my nut in its flowered i pollinated it the squashes all grew to a small pear size before they started to rot from the flowering end . i tried breaking the flower head from it but with no success. what am i doing wrong

Dear Nemo,
the flowers have not been pollinated properly and the only way to deal with that is to hand pollinate with a soft brush between the male and female flowers. You will not have to do many as I would recommend setting no more than 3-4 fruit on each plant this late in the season.
For future years I would try to encourage bumble bees into your garden as they are the best pollinators of squash.
Regards Sally Wright

Yes, I've had the same problem with butternut squash early in the season when the weather has been cool and there haven't been many bees about. It's really disappointing to see tiny fruit start to form and then lose them but I suspect brush pollination is the best way of dealing with the problem.

thanks for getting back i will try using a little paint brush

Sally,
Silly question but how do you know if the flower is male or female, to rub with the paint brush. I have one very long plant with only 1 fruit on it, which this year seems to be growing, unlike last years which failed.

SB

I love butternut squash but the last couple of years failed to develop before the frosts, so this year I planted early and dug a large pit with manure in and my 3 plants have gone crazy and I have lots of developing fruit. How long will they store for when ripe? Also do I need to leave in the sun like a pumpkin?

loopie wrote:I love butternut squash but the last couple of years failed to develop before the frosts, so this year I planted early and dug a large pit with manure in and my 3 plants have gone crazy and I have lots of developing fruit. How long will they store for when ripe? Also do I need to leave in the sun like a pumpkin?

Last year i was using my BS 5 months later, stored them in my garage.
As manure might not be available next year i wonder if i could dig a pit and tip kitchen waste in like i do with my bean trench.

Yes, you need to leave them on the plant to ripen in the sun.

the male flowers grow on a little stalk the female flowers have the flower on a swelling the swelling on a butternut squash looks like a small butternut squash.does this help

loopie - leave your fruit outside as long as possible to ripen and harden the skins, even if it means taking them in at night and putting them outdoors again to catch the autumn sunshine. They will then store in a cool dry shed or garage for several months so are an ideal crop to see you through the winter months. And they roast beautifully in chunks, either with the Sunday joint, or mixed in with other chopped roasted mediterranean vegetables such as aubergines and peppers. If you leave them on the plant to ripen, protect the base with a little straw or rest them on an upturned flower pot to protect from slugs and wet soil damage. If you have younger fruits on your plant, remove the bigger ones and ripen them separately outdoors.