Squash

[judypark]

I was given a young squash plant last month, it has happily trailed all over the veg plot and produced 2 fruits which are creamy white and about the size of tennis balls. In fact they look like smooth turnips, does anyone know the variety and when do I stop them? Also, at what size should I crop them, bearing in in mind I would like to use them for roasting. Any advice gratefully recieved.

[Thunderbird+]

Could be- Butternut squash. The size you have sounds good, or maybe a tad bigger ?
Liquid tomato fertiliser is the stuff to give them and plenty of water too! Good Luck Tbird+

[judypark]

Does not look the same shape as Butternut thunderbird,, it is all rounded and has no neck, much like meself. LOL , Whatever, what is the best size to crop a squash?

[WendyS]

I've grown various varieties of squash over the years, all of which have taken over the garden at various points, but as Thunderbird has said, the round shape suggests it's not a Butternut which is long rather than round, and has one end much plumper than the main body of the fruit. It could be a Sweet Dumpling (which is round, cream with downward green stripes and the size of a large grapefruit when ripe) or it could be one of the bigger varieties like Crown Prince which has a skin which turns a bluish green towards mid September when it starts to ripen. and is the size of a football. Other winter squashes ripen with green or orange skins but you won't know until late summer/early autumn when it ripens what it will turn out to be. Crop them as late as possible (mid-late Sept) when the skins turn hard and the sugar content of the flesh is at its maximum. . They can be stored for 2 or 3 months in a cool shed or garage and chunks cut off them for roasting as needed, but once you cut it open, it's best to cover the cut flesh with clingfilm and store in a fridge. If you've never grown winter squash before, don't be surprised if it takes over your lawn as well before it's finished growing !! Sweet Dumpling and Crown Prince are definitely the best varieties for roasting, having sweet tasting flesh like roast chestnuts but you really need an allotment to grow them because they take up so much space and stifle all the other vegs around them.

[judypark]

thanks so much for that Wendy,( Iv'e rated your answer with 3 stars). We have got an allotment but are still in the process of clearing it and didn't have a space ready for this monster, hence, it ended in our modest veg garden plot. at home. One more question, is it possible to slice it and freeze it and have you any favourite recipes?

[WendyS]

To be honest Judy I've never tried to freeze them because the whole ones store so well in our garage and once they're cut open we tend to munch our way through them fairly quickly. They can be made into soup (although Butternut soup can be rather sweet unless you put a little lemon juice in it). We often roast them in chunks with other vegs such as courgettes, peppers & onions for a Mediterranean-type meal. I've found the most convenient squash to grow are the Sweet Dumpling (cream & striped variety) since one fruit can be cut open like a grapefruit and roasted for 2 people once the seeds have been removed. You can fill the centre with Bolognaise sauce, or, believe it or not (because it's quite sweet) with apple sauce and eat as an unusual pudding.

[WendyS]

Forgot to mention, if you save the seeds to germinate them with the following year, the varieties don't always turn out to be completely true. But they tend to self-germinate quite easily. When my compost heap was over-flowing, I threw out some squash seeds and potato peelings and dug them into flower border in the autumn. The following spring the seeds all germinated of their own accord and I was innundated with squash seedlings which subsequently grew very robustly (but produced fruits which were not quite the same as the original ones. Still, it was an interesting season waiting to see what they turned out like !

[judypark]

Thanks Wendy, I shall store rather than freeze, my freezers are always full at that time of year anyway. and we have a cool dry garage. Thanks again for your advice. Judy

[WendyS]

Following up on my earlier answers I hope your squash plant is still thriving and the fruits are now getting nearly ready to harvest. If it's something you enjoy & want to grow again on your allotment next year, a small family firm called Robinsons specialises in selling seeds for varieties you can't buy in garden centre seed packets. You can get a catalogue & info from:
W Robinson & Son, Sunny Bank, Forton, Nr Preston PR3
Tel: [phone]. (E: [email protected]
Website: for online ordering & growing info: www.mammothonion.co.uk
Winter squash varieties they sell include:Sweet Dumpling (round cream colour with green stripes), Onion Squash (Orange, shaped like onions, sweet orange flesh), Tursk Turban, multicoloured), Little Gem - small round green fruit.
All the above are trailing varieties & store for months.
I currently have a self-sown Onion squash plant from an unrotted seed in my compost heap It is now eight yards long, bearing fruit which are growing bigger by the day and has now virtually covered my patio. You're going to need that allotment next year!