[SarahB]

I planted several varieties of squash & pumpkins on 7th April. Winter squash, ironbark, jack o' lantern are good sized plants.

Butternuts have only got two proper leaves.

Any idea why please?

I planted mine on 14th April (in a conservatory) and none of them germinated at all - the seed swelled but nothing else.  That was when we were still getting very low night temperatures though, so it may be they need constant heat to get started.  They may require more heat all the time...

[bigben]

Butternuts are always slow starters. Mine sat there for ages last year doing a little short of not a lot.

Then suddenly they took off, completely covered the 40 sq yds I'd given to 5 plants and also made their way into the sweetcorn. There's not a lot you can do apart from be patient & water if needed.

Oh help I have a feeling the space I've allocated might not be enough!!  I was just going to plant one metre apart.

I just finished planting mine out last night - at 1meter spacing! Oh well - they will be snug.

[paintedlady]

I sowed loads of different squashes, courgettes & cucumber at the end of April - the vast majority germinated within 10 days but I too was shocked to find of the 3 different varieties of butternut, only 1 lot had germinated and was so slow in comparison to all the others.  This morning I popped into the greenhouse to check all was well before going to work and one of the duff batches is starting to germinate - over 4 weeks after sowing!     I have to say that I'd never noticed butternut being this temperamental in the past.

[slow_worm]

I have planted some I got from the BBCs DIGIn website - basically I only sowed them last weekend and in a week with the warm weather and watering they are up with 2 leaves!
Patience is the key and wait until the warmer weather in May - April was too cool for them unless you are doing them in greenhouse!  If you sowed indoors and then planted out the cool weather wil check their growth, even if its sunny with a cool wind.

[Ian_P]

My first sowing has not developed at all. Two very small leaves and nothing else in about 6 weeks. Some in the house, some n the greenhouse and some outside recently. All harrier F1 sed from D T Brown.

I got fed up with them and sowed a asecond lot in pots last Monday 17th May. Six out of seven germinated by Friday, all with huge seed leaves and they have now been moved straight outside and are romping away. These were Thomson and Morgan seed.

Maybe they need daylight length as well as temperature.

[noshed]

Mine moved into a different bed entirely before producing squash. It was quite funny.

[Missy1970]

I completely forgot to sow mine I've only just done them today oops

[Snoop]

I completely forgot to sow mine I've only just done them today oops

I gather from my mum that it's very hot in the UK. If it keeps off, your seeds will germinate in next to no time and will quickly catch up.

[chilli-pot]

Planted 12 seeds of butternut into modules last week in a propogator on a south facing window sill and so far 2 have produced shoots with 2 leaves each. Also planted 12 sweetcorn at the same time and all now have 1" shoots