squash seed germination

Hi all

I've grown squash relatively succesfully for over ten years, bt this year I've had major problems with seed germination (3 from 24).

My guess is that it's been too cold, even though they are in a polytunnel, but wonder if anyone else has had problems?

I sowed some butternut squash indoors a few weeks ago and only one seed germinated, so three weeks later I sowed the rest of the packet and got 100% germination - it wasn't much warmer but probably just enough to make a difference.

Yes, they need warmth to germinate, somewhere in the low 20s would be ideal. Too cold - and too damp - and the seeds will likely rot.

Now it's a bit warmer and the squashes in the original sowing have all germinated and have poked their heads up through the compost - anyone want some Butternut Squash plants ? 

I've had courgette 'Black Hawk' inside for 5 weeks and none of them have germinated.  Bit annoying as they were F1 so quite expensive and I only got 4 seeds.  The squash seeds I got from a supermarket squash and shoved in a bit of old compost are thriving!

I have had major problems with squah and pumpkin germination and sweetcorn too. Only 2 plants out of 24 have germinated  

What sort of temperature have they been kept at? Both need real warmth.

Chancing it a bit, I planted out a few healthy squash plants (germinated in a propagator in March) a couple of weeks ago in a bed I'd protected/warmed up using black plastic. They did nothing and when I pulled up a couple, the roots had shrivelled and the clay soil, no more than a couple of inches down, was still stone cold. I do wonder how this (very short)growing season is going to work out considering we tend to have dull, cool and wet summers these days as well. Are we just too optimistic?

Could be, unfortunately, unless you have a heated greenhouse. They need ambient and soil temps into the 20s to really prosper. Anything under about 15C and they will just sit there.