Butternut squash trials!

No, we're not at the Old Bailey.

Is anyone out there doing the Gardening Which? butternut squash trials? We got four seeds from them and planted according to the instructions. They say that this variety is hardy in our climate.

They have grown like mad and spread everywhere. I've started calling them Triffids. We have loads of fruit on them and the largest must weigh about 3 or 4 lbs already. We don't feed them but have planted them in plenty of compost.
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shiney

 

I don't really know what to feed them on. The instructions said that if being planted out we should just ignore them and let them go. I don't see why you can't use Tomorite.
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shiney

 

Hi chrispt

Here's a picture of the triffids. They are just four plants and have started growing up my tomato plants and onto the lawn.



and here's the biggest squash so far. There are lots of smaller ones. I haven't used any feed at all.



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shiney

 

Hi rosa

There are lots of ways to cook it. You can make a good soup with it. The peel is very hard so it is best to cut it in half first and place the cut surface on a chopping board and use a sharp knife to peel it - cutting down towards the chopping board. Scoop out the seeds etc. Chop the squash and put it in a saucepan with coconut milk and some veggie stock powder or cube. Boil it till squash is soft and then liquidise. Very tasty.
Also good as roasted veg. Chop into cubes and put into baking dish with red onion cut in quarters, sweet potato cubed, courgettes in smaller chunks (as they are quite watery they will release too much liquid if in big chunks), peppers in chunks, any other roasting veg you like, whole or grated garlic and sprinkle with olive oil. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes, shuffle it around and then back into oven for 5 or 10 minutes - keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't burning - very tasty - goes well with mozzarella and ciabatta bread.

You can of course google butternut squash recipes.

enjoy
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shiney

 

Hi chrispt
Important when picking the squash!!!! When you cut them from the plant (not yet) try to leave about one and a half inches of stem on them. They keep much longer that way - you can usually keep them for weeks and weeks.
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shiney

 

rosa
Yes, you can freeze the soup.
I've been putting recipes in different areas when the topic has come up. Haven't thought about putting any on the Recipe site. As cooking is a hobby of mine I've got loads of my own recipes stored on the computer. I may get around to putting some on.
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shiney

 

The squash in the picture has got quite a bit bigger. I was going to pick it this morning but the colour is changing from the green stripes to a faded slightly beige colour. I'll leave it for another couple of days to see whether it starts looking the same colour as those in the shops.
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shiney