[cloddopper]

I've never grow Butter Nut Squash before this year.
 There  are two reasonable squashes with another couple of small one.
 What sort of colour do you let them grow to ?
 
Do you have to store then to ripen them to get the nice beige sort of colour that you see the ones in the supermarkets are ?

 As it's starting to get colder at nights will the gourd take a light frosting or do I have to harvest them all as soon as I see the frost forecast?

 Can you fleece the plants to stop them frosting thus allowing more on the vine ripening or is it not worthwhile ?

[Bert]

I don't know about butternut squash. I will be growing them for the first time next year, got the seeds already.
 I left my pumpkins to ripen on the plant even though the plant was compleatly dead. I still have one to harvest. Don't know about frost. Personally I would harvest before a frost and ripen somewhere else. only mentioned pumpkin because I think they are same family as squash. Sorry not much help

[hexhammeasure]

they will ripen off the plant, cut the stalks befor they get soft as rot can get in through it, they aren't frost hardy so need to be stored away from frost in a cool dry place preferably off the ground pick after they start changing from green to a golden colour fully ripe when an even yellow gold all over as with most squashes they will develp/have a hard outer layer which sounds hollow when tapped, if this is soft use immediately any discoloured/soft tissue should be cut away and the firmer flesh used

[HesterF]

I think I'm harvesting mine this weekend along with most of the gourds and pumpkins.

H

[cloddopper]

Thanks guys.

[HesterF]

I brought most of mine in - 400 pumpkins, squashes and gourds in total now lying all over the floor of kitchen, sitting room and hall! The only thing I left out were a handful of the butternut squashes as thy were still streaky - the rest were nicely orange. Mind you, I think we're warmer than you - no hint of frost yet - so I'll give them a wee while longer,

H

[Lesley Silvester]

What on earth are you going to do with that many? You'll be eating them forever.

[HesterF]

  The majority are ornamental gourds. We're having a big kids Halloween party next week (roughly seventy kids) so I'm going to hollow out lots of round gourds and put tea lights in them to make a ghost walk around the garden. So that'll take quite a few. Then we'll save some of the pumpkins and squashes (turban and butternut) for food and other Halloween decorations. And I'm hoping to sell the rest on Wednesday at a school cake sale to raise money for the PTA. If the decorative ones don't sell, they dry really well so quite happy to keep them around the place until the gather too much dust.

H

[MAK]

We took all our into the local village as "giveaways".  Nah - just kidding. Festival of the Pumpkin.  Pigs are munching their way through ours.

[doganjo]

Anybody tried spaghetti squash?

[MAK]

A friend cut one in half, cooked it salted water then forked it out and served the strands in butter and black pepper. It was OK but did you mean eating or growing?

[doganjo]

Eating - I had one from a friend.  I punctured it and microwaved it (8 minutes!) , took out the strands and had bolognese sauce with it - tasted just like spaghetti

[Lesley Silvester]

I've often wondered what they were like. Might try it next year.

[HesterF]

I've tried to grow spaghetti squash before  - remembered having it as a child - but failed miserably. Then I couldn't find seeds. Anybody got a suggestion for where to go for a good range of squash and gourd seeds? I brought a lot over from Switzerland which is what I've grown this year so I can save some seeds from them but would be interested in a few more new ones next year.

H

[Bert]

Try here, lots of odd looking ones
http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/garden-shop/seeds/gourds/


Spaghetti squash
http://www.seedparade.co.uk/products/Winter_Squash_Spaghetti_20_seeds-144-1.html?gclid=COjBuM6vrLoCFS_KtAodLx0A4A


I have ordered from both places they are very good.