Butternut squash report...

[lesa]

I harvested most of my butternut yesterday. A few immature ones I left on the vine (though doubtful they will have time to ripen.) All together, more than 30 very nice sized squash! I am thrilled with the result. I planted either 3 or 4 hills of them (can't quite remember). I picked a few squash bugs off them and some cucumber beetles- but they were untouched by the vine borers! All in all, very easy plant to take care of. We have eaten a few over the last couple weeks and they were delicious! I am giving up on the summer squash- I spent hours out there picking cucumber beetles off them and then they ended up dead from vine borers! I'll certainly plant these again!

 

[Warthog]

Sounds like you had a wonderful crop, how do you store them?

 

[digitS']

I harvested a few "Kuribo squash" today, Lesa. Haven't done anything with them yet, tho'.

Early Butternut seems to work okay in my garden but the Waltham Butternut doesn't seem to have quite enuf time here. I've grown Buttercup since Noah was in the whale and it just seems that there should be a step up from that. The button on the blossom end is so large on some of them that there just isn't much meat to those fruits.

Thinking that Buttercup works best for me, I have tried their relatives, the Kabochas, without finding a variety that matures properly . . . or, even produces well.

This year, I tried Cha Cha which may have done okay. I'll know when I cut them up. And, then there's these tiny leettle Kuribos!

Winter squash are really worth having, aren't they? Anyway, that's my thinking . Baking one in December (or January, if I can get them to keep that long) brings the garden year right back to me . It's just very seldom that I've got winter squash lasting more than 3 months after harvest, tho'.

Steve

 

[digitS']

30+ Butternuts?!!?

Yes, how will you handle storage, Lesa?

Large family?

S'

 

[lesa]

Storing them...well my plan is to put them on shelves in the basement. I figured if I start to see them going, I'll bake them up and freeze. They are Waltham Butternut, which some claim will keep till spring. I didn't have enough of a harvest last year, to find out how they store. There are just two of us here, so I guess we will be eating a lot of squash! Definitely going to try squash soup this year!

 

[vfem]

About how many did you get per vine? I am having an issue with only 1 squash per vine. I would have assumed 2-3 originally?

 

[lesa]

vfem, I think 2-3 per vine is a pretty good guess... Kind of hard to say, because they did a lot of traveling! I picked 4 from the "other side of the fence"! They could have used a little more space, but they aren't like pumpkins- they stopped just short of taking over the world! My plants were much happier when I added chicken poop to the soil.

 

[bills]

Lesa, eat the immature ones first, as they won't keep as long.

If the butternuts are carefully washed of all dirt, (especially the stems), allowed to sun cure a few days for the skin to harden, and kept in a cooler temps such as a basement, they should store pretty good. I find they are one of the better storage squash.

My spaghetti squash are usually the first to spoil, Hubbard the last.

Steve, funny you should mention the button on the buttercup variety. I was just turning my squash the other day, as part of the sun curing process, and I noticed some vast differences on the size of the buttons on my buttercups. Some had very small buttons, while others where huge.
I wonder if it has anything to do with the position they rest on the ground while growing? It seemed the ones that the base of the fruit was directly on the ground, had the smaller of the buttons..may be just coincidence,, but I wonder..?

 

[ninnymary]

Lesa...I take it these are not for small city gardens? I only have room for 2 squash plants. This year I 2 planted yellow zuchinis. They did not produce as much as I thought or wanted. I might try the pattypan next spring.

You had inspired me to try the butternut but it seems that it would be to big for my yard and doesn't produce very much. Am I right?

Mary

 

[bills]

Mary, have you a corner of the yard, away from the main garden that you could have the room for a squash to grow? If so perhaps you could build a small mound and stick a couple plants in it next year. Even if they take over a small section of lawn, just mow around the plant.

It depends on the individual plant, but sometimes I will get 4-5 butternut off of one vine. With Hubbard's I often get only one huge fruit. Buttercup or spaghetti squash I usually get up to 3-4 fruit per vine. Because I have so many variety's in my garden, and they do take up a lot of room, I often prune the main vine after I see some fruit has set, and just let them grow. The buttercup seems to have side vines that I will prune as well, as usually they are not great producers. I suppose you could get more fruit per vine if you had the room to let them roam, although the later setting fruit won't likely mature before the growing season ends, and may well rot after starting to develop, as their skin is so thin still.