Squash

:groan:

 

I'm growing Honey Bear F1 and Butternut Hawk F1 this year and some Giant Pumpkins for fun also. Not sure how they'll do.

Anyone tried the Honey Bear F1 for taste and or growing success?

The Hawk F1's are 'supposed' to be bred for the UK climate, we'll see...

 

Dave, any idea where I might be able to get hold of some of this?

 

Sorry Freddy I got mine from my dad. You might get some from an agricultural supplies outlet. Could also have a Google or look on Ebay for suppliers but postage costs might be steepish.

Then again you could get out into the countryside with a pair of wire cutters

 

Not at all. In a cold June, and they are common enough, the little plants can get set back so severely they fail to get going at all. I hate putting out fine healthy seedlings then seeing them shivering in chilly nights.

 

Concrete reinforcing "weldmesh" would do the trick - might not be cheap though :(

 

Hi folks.

As the time gets nearer to sow, I've been giving more thought to the support. Any reason why I couldn't use a similar basic structure to that used for Runner Beans? Obviously, I would make up a grid somehow.

 

This page is worth a good look for growing squashes ( as is his whole site ). http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_squash_butternut.html

Squash season for me last year was terrible, the season before that we grew enough to last right through in February. This year I will be trying to grow some totally under cover, similar to how he grows them in the above link.

Steve...

 

Is it possible to use an obelisk/teepee sort of setup done with bamboo?

 

Geoff Hamilton made a series about Cottage Gardens where he planted a mix of flowers and veg, maximising the space to get as much as he could from the garden he grew squash up a trellis that was on a pergola.

But looking at the link I posted above I see that one of the squashes grew to 2.5KG (5lb in old money) so you would need some sort of a plan to help support such weights wherever/however you grow them...I've had upto 8 or 9 squashes (2 on a spaghetti squash) from a plant in the past and they will if allowed grow more than that.

Steve...

 

Support of the fruit is the issue. If the plants climb you need to arrange something to support the weight of each fruit. With Melons I have hooked the stem of the fruit over a support wire, so plant is on one side and Melon the other, which works tollerably well but probably puts undue pressure on the fruit's stem and reduces the amount of water / nutrients that get to the fruit as it puts on weight.

Better to support each one with a net (old stocking?) I think ... but then you need posts either side to attach the "hammock" to ...

Space apart, easier to grow them on the ground I reckon ...

 

Butternut and Honey Bear trail but can be supported but don't actually 'climb'?

 

I'm thinking of going for something like this:



What do you think?

 

I too am a bit confused. Do Squash climb? Maybe they need to be trained up?