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| I want to plant some Waltham Butternut and Vegetable Spaghetti Squash in my SFG. I will trellis them. How far apart should they be, and if you have any special planting tips I'd appreciate it since this is my first ever garden.
Thanks, Beth |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by Ray_Scheel z8b/SS31 E. TX (My Page) on Fri, May 27, 05 at 14:15
| 1/sqft, preferably on a trellis wider than the bed and plenty tall. Pinch the main runner when it gets tot he top of hte trellis to encourage side shoots. In July, you can replant staggered between the initial vines and get a second crop growing, just cut off the first vines at the base as (if) they die back / fade out and the new vines look ready to start producing themselves. |
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| Hi Ray, how's it going? Did you get your veggies planted yet, or are you still concentrating on your orchards? Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I had already put the trellis up some time ago. It is six feet high but only as wide as the bed which is 4'. Should I only plant 3 instead of 4 in there since it's only a 4' wide trellis? Thanks, Beth |
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- Posted by Ray_Scheel z8b/SS31 E. TX (My Page) on Fri, May 27, 05 at 17:00
| The garden is half-planted and the orchard is having to dfend for itslef, though I really need to do some grafting soon. We had some health issues in the family that are just now resolving enough where I can even keep up with maintainence issues. 6' is plenty tall. I'd still plant 4 now and just plant 3 later. You can always plant fewer next year if you decide you had too much pruning to do this time. |
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| OK thanks, Ray. Hope the family will continue to improve and get well. Good luck with the grafting. Now I'm off to plant some squash. :) |
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- Posted by Jacque_E_TX Z 8B E TX (My Page) on Sat, May 28, 05 at 5:29
| Good news about the family, Ray! About those squash, you can always try to steer them down the other side of the trellis. (That would be a daily *tweak* project, like staking summer squash.) |
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| Hi Jacque! That's a great idea. I could do that with my gourds too as they like to ramble. I bought these clips that would make it easy. You can check them out on this link if interested. I really like them and they unclip easily to be used over and over again. Picture of the clip is at the very bottom of the page. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Clips
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- Posted by Jacque_E_TX Z 8B E TX (My Page) on Sat, May 28, 05 at 15:10
| Howdy, got4boys (*Whew*)! Neato clips! I use 1/2-inch green bias tape strips, about 8 inches long, wrapped in a figure-8 around the stem and support. Those puppies can be washed and reused, too. Of course, I have to remember to tie a square knot instead of a granny, and you just click. :-D |
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| I don't even know how to tie a granny! LOL I think I'll stick with my clips. : ) |
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- Posted by Jacque_E_TX Z 8B E TX (My Page) on Sun, May 29, 05 at 19:37
| Howdy, got4 (amazing--you are still coherent enough to type!)! Easy! Right over left, left over right If you try to knot it but don't make the switch, ( I made up those last 2 lines--if you are silly enough to quote them, footnote me!) ;-D |
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| Hey Jacques, I like your last two lines and I WOULD be silly enough to quote them. I'll be sure to tell them Jacques taught me. : ) I can be pretty silly, just ask my boyz! However, I thought that is how you tie a square knot, not a granny. I can tie a square knot, but don't know what a granny is. |
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- Posted by Jacque_E_TX Z 8a N Cent TX (My Page) on Mon, May 30, 05 at 16:03
| Howdy, got4 (awesome sanity check potential....)! Heh, a granny knot is when you mistie a square knot. Try right over right, right over right, then pull on it. (Brace yourself--it won't last long!) (And Jacque is short for Jacqueline--but I'm still not French. ;-D ) |
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| LOL Jacqueline! Sorry about adding an S on the end of your nickname. :( Now I understand what you mean by a granny knot. I have a niece named Jacqueline and she's not French either. LOL |
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- Posted by Jacque_E_TX Z 8B E TX (My Page) on Tue, May 31, 05 at 13:16
| Hey, I don't mind getting a free letter at no additional cost. No sweat! 8-D |
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| The clips look exactly like the clips you use to bunch cables together. You can get them a most hardware stores and some computer stores. Kiffany |
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| can butternut squash be grown on a up a trellis or is the fruit too heavy, and will it fall off of the vine if not supported with a basket or something? |
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- Posted by Jacque_E_TX Z 8a N Cent TX (My Page) on Wed, Aug 3, 05 at 15:59
| Most people sling winter squash when they are butternut size or larger--T-shirt material or old pantyhose work fine. Maybe next season I'll have a yard. If so, I'll try growing them both ways and report ('cause I suspect the stem will thicken to support the weight of the fruit, and I'm the curious type.) Excuse me while I go work on recipes for butternut soup, bread, and ice cream--the local food pantry will probably want them, too. |
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- Posted by Ray_Scheel z8b/SS31 E. TX (My Page) on Wed, Aug 3, 05 at 17:17
| I know spaghetti squash have no issues with hanging unsupported. Neither does zuchetta / trombichino (a winter/vining squash picked early to be eaten as a summer squash) even when "forgotten" - and they get too big fast. And gourds of all sizes are frequently grown trellised. I think its mainly the melons that need support. |
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- Posted by engineeredgarden 7, nw Alabama (My Page) on Mon, Jun 30, 08 at 16:31
| I wanted to revive this old thread, because I feel it's got some useful stuff in it. I'm growing the 2 squash mentioned by the OP, and would like to ask Ray about the spacing. I see in the book it states 1 per 2 sq ft. I have a bed 4 feet wide, and currently have one side of a trellis available that is 4 ft tall. I'm thinking that I could plant 2 out of the 3 varieties I have started in milk jugs, that are most compact (if such a thing exists when speaking of winter squash) from spaghetti, waltham butternut, and buttercup. Hopefully, the tomatoes on the other side of the trellis will be done producing by the time the squash vine has grown to the top of this 4 ft trellis, and I can yank the toms and let the squash grow down the side where the toms were. The most vigorous of the 3 will be planted at the bottom of my tallest trellis, which is 6 feet tall (my cucumbers are there now, but will be coming in hot and heavy in the next 2 weeks) Can Ray or Trev comment on this? Which of the 3 has the most uncontrollable vine? |
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| Hey EngineeredGarden, I got your email so I figured I would give you my two cents. I believe buttercup is the most compact of the three. I have never intentionally done any square foot gardening, so I am not sure if I was the best person to ask. However, I do grow lots of squash on trellises. I remember your setup, do you plan on putting one variety per each of your 3 trellises? I think that would be a good idea. I would put the Waltham butternut on your biggest trellis. Keep in mind that you don't need to plant your squash at the base of your trellis. They could be planted several feet away if stuff is on your trellis and just train them towards your trellis as they begin to vine. I suspect you will need to prune the vines a lot to keep them on the trellis. |
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- Posted by engineeredgarden 7, nw Alabama (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 08 at 8:36
| Thanks Trev - that was exactly the information that I was looking for. I will plant only one variety per trellis, as you suggested. My spaghetti squash seedlings are doing much better than the other 2 in the milk jugs, and I am gonna have to transplant it soon. So, I will go ahead and put it in front of the 4 foot trellis that is available now. Thanks again, Trev - You rock dude! |
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