butternuts

[pelmetman]

I'm a bit confused. This is the first year we have grown butternut squashes. The plants have lots of large squashes on them and I mean large, they are like big marrows. They still have green lines on them and I have read not to pick them until they are completely honey coloured, at this rate they will be so big they won't go in the oven.

Do you think I should pick them now to stop them growing any more?

Sue

[grahamhobbs]

You've done well, last year I had some big ones but this year they are small. What variety did you grow.
As for picking, I don't think there is a problem, I'm sure they will ripen up once picked. But you don't have to put them in to the oven whole do you?

[Millymollymandy]

They don't keep on growing like courgettes do and also make sure when you do pick them to give them some more time to ripen in a sunny place (like turn over and let the other side see the sun for a bit). I've got all sizes from teeny to what I'd call regular butternut size on my plants and they will go from stripy to butternut coloured on a windowsill indoors, so pick them before the frosts come! If you have a greenhouse then that's an ideal place to ripen them as they get lots of light and warmth there.

[JeremyinCzechRep]

I managed to grow 13 fair sized butternut squashes this year. All but one were the correct honey colour but just one was greenish. Left in the sun, it ripened a little - I wonder if other tricks like the brown paper bag and a ripe banana might help (which works for tomatoes). I adore the soup from butternut squashes - and find them a bit boring in other dishes. The soup is amazingly easy to make. I have a recipe if anyone is interested: http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/butternut_sq ... recipe.htm I'll definitely be growing more next year - and have kept the seeds I scraped out of the inside of this year's butternut squashes. (I tried it last year and it worked fine). I now have a freezer with about 5 litres of soup... :-)