[snooziebunny]

butternut squash? Hope not, but I'm still learning - can I plant some? Thankyou xx

[Spr0ut]

- hope not, because mine are going out this weekend!

[snooziebunny]

Oh good! Do you have plants or is it seeds you're putting in? I have seeds - gonna put some in anyway, can't grown anything if its still in its packet I guess 

[fatbelly]

Sowed mine 2 weeks ago and they went into the ground today.
Made the mistake in past years of sowing / planting too early.

The dreadful summer we had a couple of years ago when it rained nearly every day was preceded by a glorious spell in late April / early May when the temps were close to mid 70s for about a week so I sowed thinking summer was here. I planted out around 10th May and a few days later the weather turned cold with hail and driving winds & I lost every single plant.

[AnneB]

I normally aim to plant squash and courgettes in the ground in the first week in June.   I sow around 10-15 days before this, so I can harden off for a week first. 

I am slightly late this year.   My two squash this year, Connecticut Field and Thelma Sanders Potato, are hardening off this week and will go in on Saturday.

I find butternut squash quite difficult to grow successfully,  both to get going and to actually produce the squash.  I have more success with other types of winter squash.  Last year I grew some lovely Boston Squash from Real Seeds.   I got 3 huge squashes that lasted until March.   The freezer still has quite a stock.

[snooziebunny]

Lets hope this summer is better than last year!  I've never grown squash before, but have had some lovely courgettes and cucumbers, so fingers crossed the BNS grow - plus I love BNS soup, would be fab to have home grown x

[Spr0ut]

Mine are plants - they have their first pair of true leaves, but they always look starved until you put them into the ground I find. Sad looking plants suddenly take off and take over if you turn your back on them!

[JayG]

butternut squash? Hope not, but I'm still learning - can I plant some? Thankyou xx

Bear in mind the difference between 'sowing' seeds and 'planting' bought plants - at least 2 weeks in the case of butternut squash which need a long growing season to deliver the goods, although living in Cornwall should help. 

[al78]

I would suggest not planting out anything delicate tomorrow as the weather looks to be awful. 12C max and raining all day  . On the bright side, Thursday looks much better.

[JohnB47]

It may go against the grain but maybe try finding plants at a garden centre? I think you might be too late growing from seed now, particularly with butternuts. I find Crown Prince are more reliable in our climate and easily as good flavoured as butternut.

[Spr0ut]

I re-sowed some more BNS yesterday in a heated propagator, as my plants keep browning off and keeling over. I think its just been too cold so far this year, even down here in Cornwall.

I hope to get some harvest by the end of October

[Middlesexbloke]

Am experimenting with growing various squashes including butternut in the polytunnel this year as well as outside. Basically I'm using those potato planters made from tarp, filled with compost, manure and extra feed. Plants have gone a bit mad lol but I'm hoping to get some crop. Has anyone grown squash inside and what were the results if so?

[surbie100]

butternut squash? Hope not, but I'm still learning - can I plant some? Thankyou xx

I put some out in late June in 2012 (my first year) and had 3 butternuts to show off in October. Haven't put mine out yet, so am hopeful I can get similar/better results this year.

[JayG]

Has anyone grown squash inside and what were the results if so?

I haven't, but given the right conditions I can't think of any reason why they shouldn't do well, the main issue being pollination - you will need to pollinate manually unless you can guarantee lots of bees visiting your PT.

They may be more prone to mildew if conditions are very humid.

[beesrus]

You should have a great crop inside a polytunnel. Better than a greenhouse I would think.

I'm no squash expert, but  have grown butternut plants in my cold greenhouse for a couple of years now with  pretty good crops, and at least as good as those grown outside. Last year I had to restrict the two of them to 5 fruits per plant with the last fruit setting on 4 September.  My plants tend to be a little behind those of others. For your info, they were sown on 22 April last year and transplanted into the greenhouse border 3 June. The first viable flowers showed on 2 July and the first hand pollination was on 12 July. If your plants are zooming along, I would think you'll be ahead of these dates. But July was so good last year, things really accelerated.
I do hand pollinate though. Not difficult of course as the flowers have ooddles of pollen that can be picked up by a small brush. Sort of fits in with the general poodling around we all do in greenhouse/polytunnel. Best to do it late morning/midday. To be honest, I often give the outside butternuts a helping hand with the pollination in any case.

This year I have planted two near the door so I can train the second half of the plants to pop outside, as they do take up a lot of room.

Edited to add: Unless the plague is outside hammering to get in, I leave my greenhouse door open at all times from about mid June to avoid too much moisture build-up. But my greenhouse is only 12 feet by 6 feet.