You might remember how excited I was to find my first squashes including some tiny butternut squashes forming last month. Well, it seems 2017 is going to be the year of the squash! I keep seeing more and more pop up beneath the jungle of leaves. I counted..wait for it…
…29 squashes! I can’t believe it. The most I’ve ever harvested is 3 and never a single buttternut squash.
Crown prince 7
Spaghetti squash 12
Butternut squash 10
These figures could increase too as I didn’t count the tiny squashes that haven’t properly set. I’m actually thinking about entering them for the ‘Best Crop’ award category for my allotment’s annual award ceremony. It’s worth a shot.
With all the wet weather we’ve had in the last two weeks, I made sure each squash was raised off the ground to prevent them from rotting and developing a flat bottom.
I also got right in the middle of the patch and did some generally tidying. It’s important to remove the big weeds any dead or dying foliage and any fruits that haven’t been pollentated. I got rid of all this!
This improves the airflow around the plants and keeps mildew and mould spores away! I almost had the shock of my life when I thought I found a dead vole… turns out it was a mould squash that hadn’t developed, gross!
So yes, make sure you’re tidying your pumpkin patch people!
Now for the monsters…
⬆️ The first crown prince is ripening.
⬆️ This one is called Zeppelin!
⬆️ The twins!
I got stuck in the middle of the squashes!
So I had better start looking for lots of squash recipes for autumn! Do you have a favourite recipe? It’ll be the first time I’ve even tried spaghetti squash and it looks like so much fun to make and eat!
Homegrown Garden 