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Butternut squash crop rotation

Hi everyone,

I will be transplanting my butternut squash plants this coming weekend and am a little unsure of where to plant them. 

In the attached photo, on the right hand side there are 4 beds. On the right hand side bed parallel to the path I had courgettes in there last year. Ideally, I would like to plant my butternut squash in this bed growing vertically. 

The sun rises from left of the greenhouse in the photo (the left greenhouse) so I am worried about casting too much shade on any of the other beds if I plant them elsewhere. In the square bed, I plan on planting sweet corn so they can't go there. 

I now wish I had planted them in the back where where the wigwams are, although my sweet peas have just started sprouting, so I can't move them. 

Any ideas on what to do? Maybe I could possibly move the sweetcorn into the bed that I grew courgettes last year, although it's more of a rectangle bed rather than a square, so I wont' be able to grow in blocks and I'd have less corn. Or shall I just risk planting where the courgettes were last year?

P.S. The allotment is still very much work in progress. We have got a couple more beds to make as well as fill up with compost. We plan on using the long bed at the back of the left hand side of the photo as a flower bed to separate from the plot behind. Then we need to start thinking about tackling the weeds underneath the trees! Just a year ago the entire plot looked like that, so I'm happy with how far we have come.

Any my advice would be great!

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Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    They don't grow tall but scramble along the ground for about 5 metres so won't shade anything out.  As much sun as possible.  You can actually grow squash in between sweetcorn, together with climbing beans - this is something American Indians did and is known as "3 sisters".  The roots of the beans provide extra nitrogen which helps the corn to grow and the squash leaves provide shade to the soil to help prevent it drying out.  The beans also intertwine between the corn and provide support against wind.  It definitely works and I've grown them like this several times over the years.

    https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/How_To_Grow_Sweetcorn_Beans_And_Squashes_Using_The_Three_Sisters_Method/

    Last edited: 17 May 2016 23:09:15

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • BLTBLT Posts: 525

    I am growing Butternut squash from fresh seeds and I only planted 3 seeds and have 3 healthy seedlings.. I tried to grow them last year in a growbag without much success..I was hopaing to usea 12'' pot this time around as the bags dry out to quickly..

    Hopefully I will get a better crop. Last year I got one tiny squash about 4 inches long...

    Any tips gratefully recieved....

    Last edited: 23 May 2016 22:04:21

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713

    We have grown squash for a few years now. They need plenty of space, water & feeding.We remove the flowers that don't produce a fruit and once we have 3 or 4 squash on one plant we nip the growing ends that aren't needed so that the energy is concentrated on growing the fruits/squash bigger.

  • BLTBLT Posts: 525

    Thanks for that.. I did not know about pinching out the growing points as last year I never got that far..Space here islimited now Ionly have a small garden..

    3 raised beds and a lot of pots and grow bags..

    Can I askwhat you used to 'feed them' with?

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713

    BLT I can't remember the name of the feed at the mo. We get it at B&Q - boxed or by the sachet - it is one of the cheapest - blue granules that you mix with water - I will try to remember to look in the shed next time I am outside. We also dig in either cow or horse manure and compost as they like rich soil just as courgettes do.  We try to feed them at least once a fortnight with the aforementioned feed.

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713

    The feed is called Miracle gro - comes in either a cardboard box of 2 or 4 sachets or a plastic tub with a few sachets. We have used it for years & can be used for flowering plants as well as veg. Do you think butternut squash is the right veg to grow with limited space, they are a lovely veg. keep well & can be frozen too but they certainly do need a lot of growing space.

  • Stuart RStuart R Posts: 42

    With regards to growing squashes with limited space, I often plant mine along the edge of a bed and manipulate the growth toward to outside (perhaps along the edge of the paths between your beds Jordan). This way the plants aren't occupying the whole bed. So long as everything is well fed, squashes will be happy planted alongside many other types of veggies. The '3 sisters' planting of squashes, pole beans and corn together has been very effective for me in the past :)

  • BLTBLT Posts: 525

    Thanks Guernsey I have sone of this already ..I may as well use it...

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