Harvesting Butternut Squash

[ChristineParticipant]

I grew some butternut squash this year just from seeds saved from a supermarket one. Don’t quite know how but 3 plants grew and I have 10 squash now! Looking at other comments i think it must have been due to the amazing summer and I may not be so lucky next year. I’m in Co Wicklow, Ireland beside the sea so its zone 8.5 to 9 i think, but maybe as I’m 500 m from the sea there is a warming effect. Anyhow advise on videos here seems to be to wait til leaves die before harvesting but these guys are still bright green and growing new shoots. Is it ok to leave them as they are as I don’t think any frosts are forecast? Or should I bring them inside now before they get spoiled?

[charlesModerator]

Gosh yes you were lucky, normally Butternut in Wicklow, not!
Ripeness is Q of hard skin and neck shrivelling, not leaves which on Butternuts do grow on a bit.
You could leave a bit longer, or harvest now & bring into warmth to cure them.

[ChristineParticipant]

The stalks are still ok so I’ll leave a bit. mind you a couple that broke off accidentally are doing fine on the windowsill.
Another question (sorry I only started gardening this year so there will be plenty of stupid questions!) How come the squash all grew the same butter nut squash? I planted these before I discovered your site and books but I thought you said on one of your videos that winter squash will not grow true and you end up with lots of different ones if you save seed. Maybe I picked it up wrong? Thank you for all the advice here by the way you are now my guru!

[JDParticipant]

If you got your seeds from a supermarket squash it’s likely the whole field/tunnel were growing butternut squash so cross-pollinated amongst themselves to produce seeds in your squash that came ‘true’. In a garden setting they are not usually that isolated from other varieties and the squash family will quite happily cross-pollinate amongst themselves to produce seeds of variable hybrid characteristics. So although you have butternut squash fruits now, if you were to sow the seed from them and had different squash growing nearby, you may not get butternut squash from these seeds next year. Could be fun trying though!
(Also, any seed labelled as F1 is a specific cross between two different parents and any seed saved from F1 varieties is unlikely to come ‘true’.)
Hope this isn’t too confusing. Haven’t got much time.
Jan

[ChristineParticipant]

thank you Jan v informative. Yes i grew pumpkin and some patty pan squash beside my butternut so I could get some mix up then. Might plant a couple just to entertain the kids!

[Author]

Posts