Squash

Hi Kirsten, thanks for the reply, I will take your advise about keeping my squash plants in the greenhouse for as long as possible! Actually 'Hasta La Pasta' is the variety that I've bought. I can't speak for the flavour, as I've never tried vegetable spaghetti before - but it's recommended as a pasta replacement (I'm following a low carb diet you see, and winter squash is a high carb vegetable). It's a shame the plant seems to need a good summer.

 

I'm not a great squash eater, but I do like growing them. Been a few years since i've grown spagetti squash, seem to remember it was trailing, but I think I trained it vertical.

Found it not bad with salt & pepper.

 

Hiya chums.

I've been considering the effects of cold, and am seriously considering covering them during cold spells using polythene. Obviously, I would need to be careful about possible mildew and the like, but I think it might be a goer

 

Cloches maybe ??

 

Hmm, could be a good option. I was also thinking about later on, when even in late June it can be cold. By then they might be too big for a cloche?

 

Or am I being too protective?

 

If we get a cold summer I reckon they won't produce. You'd need to be growing them in a [large-ish] cold frame to overcome that I reckon. Some crops are grown that way - or used to be in Victorian times. From memory: Melons maybe? so I think Squash would be possible. But in a good year mine sprawl for miles ... I suppose remove the cold frame when we get a good summer.

It was certainly disappointing to get Zero crop last year - even the F1 Cobnut (a short season variety) came up blank. The previous year I had nothing from the normal Winter Squash I grow, but at least the Cobnut gave me a few fruits. Sadly seed from the variety that Shiney gave me years ago was lost in this multi-season-failure, more the pity as we really loved the flavour :(

Its common to grow them in compost heaps. Maybe that gives them more umph to grow big enough etc? and might give a crop even in a lousy year? Mine are just planted into a pre-prepared hole filled with rotted manure, and a pot sunk alongside to make it easy to give copious watering (not a problem last year!!!)

 

Squashes are a bit fussy, they do seem to prefer a hot summer, sometimes failing to produce anything worthwhile in a cool summer.
With this in mind, this year I'm trying a variety I haven't grown before:
http://www.kingsseeds.com/vegetable_seeds/Squash Butternut Autumn/P-12350
Supposedly they are more suited to a UK climate.

 

Hiya Kristen.

My thinking was that I would train them up a 'grid' of some sort, as suggested by DaveW. As I see it, it would be relatively easy to just drape some polythene over as and when necessary. My plan is pretty much as you described, to prepare a planting hole using manure, pretty much the same thing I would do for say Cucumbers or Courgettes.

 

"temporary greenhouse" can't do any harm, and if you can design it so that it might fit over a mature crop you'll be glad of it in a rubbish summer.

You could hedge with a short-season, bred for UK-climate, variety like F1 Cobnut - but they are small fruit, compared to normal Winter Squash, and not in the same league IMHO. But any-Squash is better than no-Squash ... and in a good year you can always give the short-season ones away

 

A "good year"? [goes to look it up]

 

Were you thinking of covering the soil and roots with black plastic Freddy? I've read about melons being grown like that sometimes..

 

I hadn't considered it, but I suppose it would make a useful mulch/weed suppressant?

 

And attract some heat into the soil? I think that might well help.

 

That's a tyred joke.

I'll get my coat ...