In article ,
"Dwayne" writes:
|
| I live in Kansas. My butternut squash have sprouted and will go into the
| ground in about 10 days. They will be ready to pick in August or Sept.
| They taste better if left on the vine until the stem has died and got
| completely dry.

Quite. Now compare your latitude (which affects the amount of light)
and average temperatures in June, July and August with the UK.

| If my sweet potato slips hurry up, I will pull them and plant them about the
| same time. I leave them in the ground until just before the first frost.
| If your growing season is short, they may be smaller, but it would be
| interesting to try.

It isn't JUST that it is short, but it is also cool, and often dark.
Spring and autumn are warm enough to grow many plants, but too
dark for the high-altitude subtropicals to thrive. Don't ask
about the winter :-(

| are usually cool and the period of high light is very short, which
| means that it is already getting dark by the time that squash set
| fruit.
|
| I have seen a lot of stuff that was grown in Alaska that I couldnt believe.
| It is worth a try at least once. All else fails, plant the sweet potatoes
| in pots or buckets and bring them inside if you have to till tiem to pick (I
| have done that also - one potato grew per pot).

Sweet potatoes? It might surprise you that Alaska's summer in the
more populated areas is not that much colder or darker than the UK.
The differences are in the winters.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.