Squash. We have leaves, what now?

[Shirley]

Great pics... bigger than my squash plants that's for sure.

So... what's the general thinking - squash and tripods a good idea or better to let them sprawl?? It get's windy here as our plot is pretty exposed (even more so after the leylandii have gone) so I'm thinking sprawl is better for us....

[Cheezy]

The problem I've got is as you see in the first pic is space, thats my main raised bed at home, it's 4 foot wide, with a wall on one side (sheltered but west facing). Immediately in front of the squash are 9 pea plants that are my second crop(you can see the twiggy pea sticks) that i've just put in
Thought it'd be good as they should provide nitrogen for the squash, and had chard and lettice in prior.

And immediately to the left are some potatoes , ones I missed from last year! and Borlotti beans.

so rather than spread out I've gone all 70's and gone vertical.

The wigwham is actually 5 canes and wire,but the pic isn't that good.

Also in that bed which is probably 4 ft x 15ft ive cropped so far this year garlic,chives,broad beans, chard and little gem lettice. And still to crop second peas, borlotti beans,red onions, corriander ,parsely, lettice (romescu?), potatoes(pink fur), fennel and of course butternut squash. So pretty intensive for a little area, which shows what you can do. God help me when I finally get my hands on me lotti!.

I've got a smaller bed to the side which is 2ftx9ft where I grow my cut and come again salads (lambs,rocket,romenscu and a mixed leaf), that was in one half , the other had my first crop peas, now finish and replanted with the same cut and come leaves since the first lot are now bolting, plus some red onion.

[the.fee.fairy]

i see now!!

I've got sweet peas growing up a bamboo wigwam already, so i do know how to make them!!

Must get some more bamboo canes at the weekend then, ready for the squashes to grow up!

[hedgewizard]

Shirlz, it depends on how much space you've got for them and what sort they are. I've got a strip about five feet wide and forty feet long which is quite a bit, but they vary from bushy types that really only take up three square metres or so so huge sprawling efforts. My kabocha squash is has vines going off in four different directions (I didn't limit it as it's my first year and I wanted to see what it could do) - that one plant is just pushing the 21' (7 meters) mark!

Watching the way things came up, I reckon I could get a very early sowing of sweetcorn interplanted next year. I also did some runners on tripods in there this year, and it's been no problem at all.

[Chickpea]

There's a thing called "three sisters", hand on I'll just do a google . . . it's corn, beans, and squash. You interplant them and they all benefit each other. Here's a website about it http://www.kidsgardening.com/growingide ... 02-pg1.htm but if you search for "three sisters" you'll find lots of references.

[Shirley]

Thanks Hedgie... we've got a right mixture - some unidentified from a packet of seeds that Andy shared between myself and hedgewitch (how are your squashes hedgewitch), blue banana, pumpkins, and butternuts.

Chickpea - have a look at this article here on Ish - http://selfsufficientish.com/matrix.htm

[Chickpea]

Ah, thanks Shirlz. Good article. I reckon I'll try that next year. the people on the plot next to us have a fabulous-looking crop of corn growing. I tried it last year in growbags but it was a flop. I dunno whether it was the growbags or the weather last year. My tomatoes were a flop last year because they didn't get enough sun and so didn't ripen at all. I ended up making green tomato chutney with them, but I wanted red fresh tomatoes.

[Shirley]

I will be happy to get ANY tomatoes on my plants... green or otherwise... this year

I love green tomato chutney anyway. Mind you... I did spot a recipe for cucumber, green tomato and mint raita in Olive mag the other day - only bought it because it's got a voucher for a free tub of elderflower sorbet on it

[hedgewizard]

Three sisters - unconvinced because corn grows much more slowly than beans here. I did plant the three together, but grew the beans up wigwams and it worked fine (although I can't get near the beans now over the sea of squash!)

[Shirley]

Hedgie - can't see the photo mate

[Chickpea]

I think you have to plant the corn a while before the beans for that reason, Hedgie.

[hedgewizard]

Ayone else having trouble with the pic?

Yeah, I kind of gathered an early planting would be the thing, and maybe delay the beans planting until the very last minute. I'm still not convinced that in the UK corn grows fast enough to make this system a goer. Has anyone done it successfully here?

[digiveg]

Where I used to live in California, Halloween was a major event. Some bright spark decided to strap a Richard Nixon mask from the previous year onto a developing pumpkin, and sure enough it grew into it. The result was scary, but just as tasty as ever.

[ina]

Oh dear - just imagine that (or any!) face grinning at you from amongst the leaves...

Btw, does anybody know the difference between squash, pumpkins and marrows? I've got squash in various shapes and sizes (well, I'm hoping to have soon ); I have something that's called a marrow (custard white marrow), but it's just the same shape as some of the squashes (round and a bit knobbly) - and pumpkins aren't really all that different, either! And since there are round courgettes, too, it gets even more confusing....

[Shirley]

Where I used to live in California, Halloween was a major event. Some bright spark decided to strap a Richard Nixon mask from the previous year onto a developing pumpkin, and sure enough it grew into it. The result was scary, but just as tasty as ever.

I rather like that idea - it appeals to my odd sense of humour