Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

General information and discussion about cultivating melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and gourds.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old October 9, 2012   #16
Colorado_west
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: western Colorado zone 5
Posts: 307
Default

I bought the plants at the garden center here, I meant if I saved seed from them they could be mixed. Long smooth and some were getting length ways ridges kinda, No butternut peanut shape to them. Plants were labeled. These squash should have ran true. I keep wondering if banana.

Store prices was very high last year on winter squash. Not huge ones, they started out $2.49 a pound at Krogers the came down to $1.99 and then had a sale at .79. I did buy some for the winter. I will have to cook one and freeze the extra.

Thanks.
Colorado_west is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 9, 2012   #17
kath
Tomatovillian™
 
kath's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
Default

Oops- forgot to count and measure the next day- better late than never? From 5 vines of Burpee Butterbush I got 51 mature fruits. Most of them weighed in the neighborhood of 2 lbs. with a few less than 1 lb. and several over 3 lbs. The vine lengths were from 8-10 ft. which seems a lot longer than the year that I trellised them on bamboo tepees.

Btw, I've had several PM requests for seeds and I don't have any more to share. The last packet I bought was marked $1.97 so I think it was from WalMart- going to check that out come spring.
kath is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 11, 2012   #18
Wi-sunflower
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,591
Default

Colorado,

The plants are the problem. Or I should say "purchased plants".

Around here it's a joke with teenage workers to change labels on stuff. Especially hot peppers.

Whether on purpose or by accident, the plants you got were most likely miss-labeled and not Butternut at all. From your description probably Spaghetti or maybe Luffa plants.

Unless they are absolutely fabulous tasting squash, I wouldn't save the seeds as they will very likely be crossed with whatever else is growing in the community garden.

JMO,
Carol
Wi-sunflower is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 11, 2012   #19
Tormato
Tomatovillian™
 
Tormato's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: MA
Posts: 4,958
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower View Post
Actually some of the larger butternut varieties CAN get over 15 lbs.

We have many in the 6-8 lb range this year. But they are all with the butternut "peanut" shape and nice tan color.

If you bought the seed, even in a community garden you should get what you bought. It would be the seed IN those squash that would possibly be crossed, not the fruit itself.

Carol
"Some of the larger butternut varieties CAN get over 15 lbs."

I just weighed my largest Tahitian Melon Squash...23 lbs., and I'm
wondering what it's going to taste like.

Tormato
Tormato is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 11, 2012   #20
Colorado_west
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: western Colorado zone 5
Posts: 307
Default

Tormato, I had not heard of that squash. Hope it is good tasting one. I hope these large squash I have will be good tasting.

Carol, I have the squash laid in the utility room to dry more. Just wait and see. I use a saw knife to cut squash. I do not have since moved up here yet. It was suppose to cut frozen food. HA! nope not for me it didn't but sure saws the squash. I do have a saw as I am sure I can't use a plain knife on them. I was thinking dad used an axe back in the 30's to cut a big squash. Mom would buy pieces most times or buy acorns. KIDS. At that wt I think they are squash. Garden center here buys plants from some grower. Never seen a luffa but know what they are.
Colorado_west is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 8, 2014   #21
luigiwu
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
Default

I'm planning to try Butterbush squash this year and am hoping to grow 3 plant in a 5-gallon sub-irrgiated bucket. Is that too many? What do you think thing the best way to support the fruit and growth would be? I think I read about a teepee using poles on here? Would doing a single twine like a tomato work at all?
luigiwu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 8, 2014   #22
kath
Tomatovillian™
 
kath's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by luigiwu View Post
I'm planning to try Butterbush squash this year and am hoping to grow 3 plant in a 5-gallon sub-irrgiated bucket. Is that too many? What do you think thing the best way to support the fruit and growth would be? I think I read about a teepee using poles on here? Would doing a single twine like a tomato work at all?
If properly fed, I think 3 plants would be ok but I've never used that type of container. Sadly, I used bamboo teepees for a butternut squash trial one year and found it very difficult and time consuming because of all the side shoots that grow out of the main vine. The next year I tried cattle panel and that was even worse- that year I was only using Butterbush and I gave up and let them have their way to run rampant all over everything planted nearby. The huge leaves make it really hard to use twine without damaging the plant, too. They're not as easy to train to trellises as cukes or even melons but seem to really want to grow on the ground. In the end it was "easier" for me to enlarge the garden and let them run.

Maybe others will have an easier method or tips that might work for you.

kath
kath is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 11, 2014   #23
luigiwu
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
Default

Kath, what do you mean when you say you found the bamboo teepees to be "difficult and time consuming?" Sorry, I've never grown any type of vining squash before - but I have have grown cukes. The cukes just attached themselves to basically anything - the butterbush squash I'm assuming is even more vigorous? What happens is if you snip off the side shoots?
luigiwu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 11, 2014   #24
kath
Tomatovillian™
 
kath's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
Default

The vines don't naturally want to climb or attach to poles, string, etc.; it seemed that they wanted to grow on the ground. The large leaves made them hard to work with and they were scratchy without gloves but with gloves it was easy to damage the vines. I thought the side shoots were necessary so those had to be attached, too, and so they were very bulky to attach to the thin poles.

I'm surprised no one else has chimed in on this one because I've heard that people trellis all kinds of squash. Figured they must know something I don't.

kath
kath is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:15 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★