Compact winter squash

[compostpopeParticipant]

Hi Charles

I’m fed up with tripping over butternut squash plants trailing all over my plot and so I would like to try some compact varieties next year. Is Blue Ballet the only option? and how trailing is Uchi Kuri in comparison to Butternut?

Good luck with weathering tonights storm – I hope everything at Homeacres is lashed down securely and if not – no heroics please, stay safe indoors.

[charlesModerator]

 Thanks for your kind thoughts on the storm, I am nervous for my greenhouse and tunnel as it is rather open here. 

Yes I would grow good old Uchiki Kuri which is less rambling and greedy than many other squash plants, and it is easy to flick the stems back into the bed during summer. Then it self-prunes (unless given a huge space of good soil for its roots) and usually just stops growing by late August, just ripening instead.

Interestingly I was given a beautifully ripe-looking Butternut today by an experienced gardener, but am underwhelmed by its flavour and think it needs to mature in wormth to sweeten. Kuri is good from the time it is picked and keeps well too.

[compostpopeParticipant]

Thanks Charles – space permitting I will try both the Kuri and Blue Ballet. My Butternut cropped well this year although despite the warm summer I do have a few greenish ones for the first time – maybe not quite warm enough late in the season or maybe I simply harvested a bit too soon (early October).

I have been working on the plan for my plot next year and remember that you had a list of all the different vegetable families and which belonged in each one. This might be of help but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. If it is still available can you let me know where I can find it?

I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for your polytunnel and greenhouse. Have you remembered to close the vents and put a brick against the door?

cp

[compostpopeParticipant]

Just in case anybody is interested, I was mistaken about this – what I had seen was a list of plant families of SALAD leaves, and in Charles’ book Salad Leaves for all Seasons and not here on the website.

CP

[fergusqMember]

Like you, I’d like more tidy squash, especially in my polytunnel beds so I can walk through and not have to abandon whole areas until the autumn! After a little research I came across a variety called Burpee’s Butterbush and a variety from Sutton’s called Butterbush F1. They appear to be compact plants alright but produce fruits about a 0.5kg in size, half the usual. I’m considering trying the Sutton’s one this year. Alternatively there’s a variety called Chieftain F1 which I’ve seen labelled as compact but cannot find any definite information about it.

fergusq

[SpadelessAdeParticipant]

If anyone’s interested in trying them up/round canes, I do this every year and it works really well for me. The plants can then fit neatly inside my 4′ wide beds, I just have to make sure I keep tying the stems to the canes as they do grow so fast don’t they! And if anyone’s wondering, I don’t have a problem with the weight of the fruit at all even when they’re fully grown. Last year, I grew Crown Prince which grew fairly large, and Uchiki Kuri.

[charlesModerator]

Welcome to the forum Fergus.
This variety certainly looks compact, I hope there is enough leaf area for sufficient photosynthesis to make the fruits sweet – do report back when you have grown them.
Adrienne’s idea of using trellis is also worth following and as she says, the fruit do not need supporting. I grow melons upwards too and the fruit just hang on their own.

[Mad4fevParticipant]

I grew 2 butterbush plants from seeds from DT Browns (free p&p) in 12″ pots last year – the plants were indeed compact, being about 4″ tall and dangling over the edge of the pot to just about touch the ground. Both produced 4 squashes – taste was great, much better than shop bought butternut. I’ve got one left in storage with no signs of rot. I will certainly be growing them again this year.

[RedSkyOrganicsMember]

Thanks for this info about your experiences with Pumpkins/Squash on canes.
I have been planning for almost a year now to do this with anything that has a trailing vine. Trellising them that is. At 50, moderately healthy and with the desire to continue gardening for self sufficiency and in the long term for small gains $$ to cover council tax and replacement of tools etc.

I see any system that helps preserve my back, neck and shoulders as a good thing.

I was only last night looking at a variety I found in a “Down Under” on-line seed store called;

RED KURRI (Cucurbita maxima)

Also,

JACK BE LITTLE (Cucurbita pepo)

Red Kurri is from Japan originally. I’ve read somewhere that others have successfully trellised Uchiki Kuri on trellises and various poles and supports. Thanks again.

[Author]

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