Hi all,

Thanks to everybody who responded to my query about the squashes which were
supposed to be butternuts, but clearly weren't. We're happy calling them the
Buttercup/Kabocha type.

Anyway, we went down to the allotment today and brought them home with us.
The plant was showing signs of a touch of frost,which was confirmed by the
adjacent householders, although we've had no frost at home only 2 miles
away. Also we're going to be a bit busy in the next few weeks, so home they
came. There are a couple of pics of them here -

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976665

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976594

25 in the pics, plus about 5 or 6 small ones left on the plants just in case
they do anything, and a couple given away already. 30+ from 2 plants, not
bad, no?

Steve

The message
from "shazzbat" contains these words:

Hi all,

Thanks to everybody who responded to my query about the squashes which were
supposed to be butternuts, but clearly weren't. We're happy calling them the
Buttercup/Kabocha type.

Anyway, we went down to the allotment today and brought them home with us.
The plant was showing signs of a touch of frost,which was confirmed by the
adjacent householders, although we've had no frost at home only 2 miles
away. Also we're going to be a bit busy in the next few weeks, so home they
came. There are a couple of pics of them here -

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976665

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976594

25 in the pics, plus about 5 or 6 small ones left on the plants just in case
they do anything, and a couple given away already. 30+ from 2 plants, not
bad, no?

Steve


That's an amzing crop. I've had nowhere near so many from my butternut -
perhaps two large and two smaller squash per plant. I wonder whether
this is typical.
If Buttercup keeps as well as buttewrnut, it would seem to be a better
proposition.

Janet G

Steve, have you tried any of them? How do they taste?

I'm not suggesting that you did this, but I used seeds once I had saved from
a prior years planting and got some strange results. From then on I have
never planted seeds that may have been cross-pollinated, unless it happened
while the seed company had them.

Dwayne


"shazzbat" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Thanks to everybody who responded to my query about the squashes which
were
supposed to be butternuts, but clearly weren't. We're happy calling them
the
Buttercup/Kabocha type.

Anyway, we went down to the allotment today and brought them home with us.
The plant was showing signs of a touch of frost,which was confirmed by the
adjacent householders, although we've had no frost at home only 2 miles
away. Also we're going to be a bit busy in the next few weeks, so home
they
came. There are a couple of pics of them here -

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976665

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976594

25 in the pics, plus about 5 or 6 small ones left on the plants just in
case
they do anything, and a couple given away already. 30+ from 2 plants, not
bad, no?

Steve

Janet, I planted only 3 butternut squash plants, and have picked 4 to 5 from
each plant already and still have several smaller ones left on the vines.
One will make it before the freeze comes, but the rest are really small and
I have my doubts.

If I were you, I would try both to satisfy your curiosity, but I always go
back to the butternut. One year I borrowed a rather large piece of a farm
to put a garden on, and I planted 16 kinds of squash. Several were good,
but only one was better than the butternut. I planted some of that one at
my cousins place this year, and it didnt do anything.

Dwayne


"Janet Galpin" wrote in message
...
The message
from "shazzbat" contains these words:

Hi all,

Thanks to everybody who responded to my query about the squashes which
were
supposed to be butternuts, but clearly weren't. We're happy calling them
the
Buttercup/Kabocha type.

Anyway, we went down to the allotment today and brought them home with
us.
The plant was showing signs of a touch of frost,which was confirmed by
the
adjacent householders, although we've had no frost at home only 2 miles
away. Also we're going to be a bit busy in the next few weeks, so home
they
came. There are a couple of pics of them here -

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976665

http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/al...photo=33976594

25 in the pics, plus about 5 or 6 small ones left on the plants just in
case
they do anything, and a couple given away already. 30+ from 2 plants, not
bad, no?

Steve


That's an amzing crop. I've had nowhere near so many from my butternut -
perhaps two large and two smaller squash per plant. I wonder whether
this is typical.
If Buttercup keeps as well as buttewrnut, it would seem to be a better
proposition.

Janet G

shazzbat wrote:
Hi all,

Thanks to everybody who responded to my query about the squashes which were
supposed to be butternuts, but clearly weren't. We're happy calling them the
Buttercup/Kabocha type.

you sure they aren't little gem squash?

"Michael Calwell" fac@fac wrote in message
...
SNIP

We're happy calling them the
Buttercup/Kabocha type.

you sure they aren't little gem squash?

No, I'm not sure of anything anymore :-))

The main reason for my original post on 08/09 was to ask if anyone knew. The
consensus of what others posted and from the sites they posted links to, was
that they were most likely Buttercup/Kabocha type ... Ish. It doesn't bother
me enough to get worked up about, I get the impression that identification
of squashes generally is open to some interpretation.

We haven't tasted them yet, but will later this week.

Again, thanks to all who responded.

Steve

The message
from "Dwayne" contains these words:

Janet, I planted only 3 butternut squash plants, and have picked 4 to
5 from
each plant already and still have several smaller ones left on the vines.
One will make it before the freeze comes, but the rest are really
small and
I have my doubts.

If I were you, I would try both to satisfy your curiosity, but I always go
back to the butternut. One year I borrowed a rather large piece of a farm
to put a garden on, and I planted 16 kinds of squash. Several were good,
but only one was better than the butternut. I planted some of that one at
my cousins place this year, and it didnt do anything.

Dwayne


Whereabouts do you live? Mine are growing in a polytunnel so they should
have a good amount of warmth. The plants are huge and they got off to a
good start at the beginning of the season so I'm not sure what else I
could have done to get more squashes. I have a couple of plants outside
and they haven't produced anything of any size at all.

What was the squash which did better than butternut on your borrowed farmland?

Janet G

I am in the USA, with a growing season from the end of May through Sept 20.
I start the seeds inside about a month before planting them outside.

The one I like better is called Hopi Indian Squash. It gets a really bright
reddish orange. The taste is sweeter and they get bigger. If you want,
contact me direct and I will get you an address to write or E-mail.

Dwayne


"Janet Galpin" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Dwayne" contains these words:

In article ,
"Dwayne" writes:
|
| I am in the USA, with a growing season from the end of May through Sept 20.
| I start the seeds inside about a month before planting them outside.
|
| The one I like better is called Hopi Indian Squash. It gets a really bright
| reddish orange. The taste is sweeter and they get bigger. If you want,
| contact me direct and I will get you an address to write or E-mail.

Interesting. A quick Web scan indicates that is C. argyrosperma,
which I have never heard of being grown in the UK. Because of
our miserably cold and wet summers, all squashes are very marginal
here, and the only ones that are reliable are the hardier forms of
C. pepo.

HOWEVER, it seems that Tennessee Sweet Potato is a C. moschata,
like butternut (a real b*gg*r to grow in the UK), and I have got
two good ones. I shall report when we have eaten one.

When you say that it is sweeter - sweeter than what? I don't like
butternut much, because I find it sickly. Most people in the UK
don't like the amount of sugar that the USA does in their pumpkins
(e.g. USA-style pumpkin pie with lots of molasses is generally
disliked, and pumpkin pie with no sweetening and mustard is more
to many people's taste).

I should be interested in trying C. argyrosperma.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Good morning Nick.

Growing them there might be a real challenge. I would put them in full sun,
on a raised bed, and give it a try. I like to experiment in my garden and
see what I come up with.

In my opinion they are sweeter than the butternut. I am diabetic and cant
eat much with sugar added to it. I raise sweet potatoes also. Most
Americans bake them in a dish with brown sugar and add butter to them before
eating to make them moist. I found a way to cook them that makes them not
so dry when you get ready to eat them, and I cure them longer to make them
sweet enough I don't add sugar to them.

You are correct. Americans eat too much sugar. My wife made something
(cookies or cake) for a Chinese family that lived next door to us one time.
We went to a party at their house about 2 weeks later, and found that they
had not eaten what we gave them. I ask him later if there was something
wrong, and he told me it was too sweet for them.

Not all pumpkin pie recipes call for molasses. I would be happy to send, or
post one for you if any of are willing to try it. I guess it is how we are
raised. I used to love to eat pie and ice cream after a meal, or as a
between meal snack. I still can as long as I don't go over 150
carbohydrates a day.

Dwayne


"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Dwayne" writes:
|
| I am in the USA, with a growing season from the end of May through Sept
20.
| I start the seeds inside about a month before planting them outside.
|
| The one I like better is called Hopi Indian Squash. It gets a really
bright
| reddish orange. The taste is sweeter and they get bigger. If you
want,
| contact me direct and I will get you an address to write or E-mail.

Interesting. A quick Web scan indicates that is C. argyrosperma,
which I have never heard of being grown in the UK. Because of
our miserably cold and wet summers, all squashes are very marginal
here, and the only ones that are reliable are the hardier forms of
C. pepo.

HOWEVER, it seems that Tennessee Sweet Potato is a C. moschata,
like butternut (a real b*gg*r to grow in the UK), and I have got
two good ones. I shall report when we have eaten one.

When you say that it is sweeter - sweeter than what? I don't like
butternut much, because I find it sickly. Most people in the UK
don't like the amount of sugar that the USA does in their pumpkins
(e.g. USA-style pumpkin pie with lots of molasses is generally
disliked, and pumpkin pie with no sweetening and mustard is more
to many people's taste).

I should be interested in trying C. argyrosperma.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
"Dwayne" writes:
|
| Growing them there might be a real challenge. I would put them in full sun,
| on a raised bed, and give it a try. I like to experiment in my garden and
| see what I come up with.

Yes. I don't have any ideal locations, unfortunately.

| In my opinion they are sweeter than the butternut.

Gosh.

| I am diabetic and cant eat much with sugar added to it.

I am sorry to hear that. I have a daughter that is, but she is
an unrepentant carnivore.

| I raise sweet potatoes also.

Those REALLY don't grow outside in the UK. I like the drier,
less sweet white ones, not the butternut-like orange ones.

| Not all pumpkin pie recipes call for molasses. I would be happy to send, or
| post one for you if any of are willing to try it.

Please post. I am sure that other people would be interested.

I like pumpkin soup, but it includes only pumpkin, stock (bacon
for choice, if not too salty), tomatoes, onions and chillis or
mustard (roughly in that order). A similar pie filling is good,
too.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

| I raise sweet potatoes also.

Those REALLY don't grow outside in the UK. I like the drier,
less sweet white ones, not the butternut-like orange ones.


We're trying them for the first time this year. A friend gave us some slips
they didn't have room for. But we are very close to the south coast, and
it's a bit of an Indian summer here, although we've had a spot of rain this
morning, the first for about three weeks. We've got plenty of growth and I
think they're still going, although some parts were touched slightly by an
early frost last week, fortunately just the one.

Don't know yet if we've got anything below ground though.

Steve