butter nut squash
TIM 5
Posts: 1
in Fruit & veg
I have planted some butter nut squash in my green house that have gone mad. Can I cut them back, if so which is the best place to cut them back . Thanks
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TIM 5
Posts: 1
TIM 5
Posts: 1
Posts
I'm afraid this is the nature of the beast, butternuts do like to scramble. You could cut them back but it will be at the expense of fruits. However, if you want to trim them, cut back at a leaf joint.
I planted a butternut squash in the ground last year and was amazed how quickly it grew huge, it must have been 8 foot across before I started to nip out the tips and I ended up with 9 good sized fruits. This year I have planted 2 plants one is about 3 foot across but the other is smaller the larger one has one fruit already7 or 8 inches long with a few more just starting to grow. I hope that it gets as big as it did last year but I don't know if the cooler weather might be holding it back. I don't think that I would have planted one in my greenhouse after last years experience.
When the conditions are suitable they do romp away! But they do make the most delicious soup, and are great roasted too.
This year if I get a bumper crop as I did last year I will cut the stems off leaving more than two inches on I reckon at least four inches but as long as I can to be honest, last year they started to go soft at the end after a couple of months storage, there's only so much butternut soup one man can eat no matter how tasty it is, I was having a bowl full every night for weeks.
Roasting chunks of butternut squash and red onion with sage and olive oil this evening - we'll be having it with sausages and corn on the cob - love it
I always add crunchy peanut butter and fresh ginger to my butternut squash soup and frankly could eat that every day forever