Butternut Squash

Aren't they in the same family of plants as the standard run of the mill pumpkin? Wouldn't they just need a warm sheltered spot to be sown after the last frost?

 

I love roasted butternut squash (simply cut it in half, leave the skin on, scoop out the seeds and pop in the oven - we eat the skin) " title="WantLick " />

 

Never grown it, cant stand it.
But I think most squashes grow reasonable well outside in the UK.

 

Butternut squash.
Love it. Makes great soups, pies and bread and cubed saute over pasta with goat cheese and pine nuts. Martha steward has a nice spice soup for it, with apples. I make it for the holidays in October minus the stock and freeze it, simply thaw add the stock and slowly bring to simmer. My pumpkin pie is made with it, also pumpkin bread, it takes to those spices well. I do roast it, or simmer cubed on top of stove or browned gently in skillet, depends on the flavor I am wanting for the end product. it freezes well.

 

+1 for cubed (skin on) and roasted. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little oil or butter and cook in hot oven for 30 minutes. If you can grow courgettes then you can grow squashes too. They'd be earlier in a greenhouse or polytunnel but should ripen OK outside before the first frosts in the UK. If you want a challenge, look out for seed of potimarron squash. Not as easy to grow as butternuts but a better flavour.

 

been wanting to grow some squash, only to explore the stuffed blossoms to make.

 

Never tried that @redstar....life's too short to stuff a squash flower!

 

Sow them under protection in early April into 3 inch pots. Once they are up and growing they will need potting on quite quickly and can go into a 5 or 6 inch pot where they will stay until planting out time. Sow a few seeds every week.

Plant out under protection if you can start of May onward but be prepared to cover with fleece if cold nights are forecast.

Cold weather will knock them back, not necessarily kill them but slow their growth enough for you to notice and it can take some time to get them going again. But as you have done multiple sowings it is sometimes worth ripping out the plant that has stopped and replacing it with a later sown one whose growth has not been checked. I plant out, then a week later plant a later sown one 6 inches away, the same a week later...strongest plant wins in the end and the rest get ripped out.

Squashes "vine out" and they can be 20ft long or so but you can train them where you want them to grow so you could put 2 canes in the ground 6ft apart and train the vine continually back and forth around them.

They are hungry plants as all pumpkins and squashes are and they will benefit from protection from wind, especially when young.

Towards the end of the season when your fruits have grown to a good size, get into the plant area and clear leaves to let the sun at them to help ripen.

Hope this helps.

Steve...

<< EDIT>>

I went to look for a site I know of where a plot holder in Liverpool grows squashes in small areas, I was going to post the link for you. Sadly the site is has gone.

Anyway, I snaffled a few images of his from pinterest for you.

This first one shows his growing frames, from memory they are 2.4M x 1.2M, he used these sizes as these where the sizes the boards at the base came in. 2 plants in situ.



Plants growing away and filling the box.


Plant foliage flattened end of season to enable better ripening.


His plot in Liverpool, with a few frames....very very tidy plot.


Steve...

 

You can grow them up supports if you wish, I never have. I have seen both Geoff Hamilton and Monty Don do this. Allowed to vine along the ground they need no support, just training.

I've edited my post above and added some photos showing growth and space.

Steve...

 

We grew a couple of butternut squash plants this year, producing 6 fine-sized squash by the first frost. No effort required, the seeds germinated from our compost mixed in our veg beds, and I spotted the growth amongst the courgette plants I planted out late May. So they germinated in the compost/manure mix, no extra protection, and coped with the tlc required for their courgette neighbours. Ok, not ideal, but proves that you can grow them without too much fuss!
From that experience, we will grow them deliberately next year, just sowing the seeds at the same time as our courgettes...

 

not too sure what that means????

 

Paraphrasing (I think it was) Joan Rivers...Life's too short to stuff a mushroom