This year has been a great year for squashes and pumpkins. Another new vegetable for this year was a Butternut Squash as I’ve not ever grown one before.

We had no room in the raised beds so decided to experiment to see if two plants would grow in a large patio pot instead.

The plants have succeeded and given us 3 butternut squash’s variety: Hunter.

3. Things to Look for to tell whether your Butternut Squashes are ready to harvest

1. The outside of the butternut squash goes it’s distinct beige colour and not a green anymore. This is when the outer skin hardens up. The harder the skin, the longer you can store it for.

2. The vine the vegetable is growing on dies back and goes a grey or brown in colour. This includes the stem and stalk of the plant where the butternut squash is growing from.

3. The harvest month for a butternut squash is usually mid September to October.

Top Tip on Harvesting your Butternut Squash

If you want it to store for a longer period of time, cut the butternut squashes stalk so that it is a T shape when the stalk is cut from the vine.

Here are our butternut squashes that we harvested last weekend

There’s still one large butternut squash which hasn’t quite grown into it’s usual shape. The stem from the second plant has not died off yet so it remains in the pot until it does.

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The Harvest Series

• January – We have Autumn Cauliflowers 
• February – Musselburgh Leek Harvest
• February – How to Harvest & Cook Cauliflower Romanesco
• May – Radish Harvest – Sow to Harvest in 4 Weeks
• May – Lettuce and Pak Choi Harvest in Late May and Early June
• June – Red & Green Lettuce, Radish, Broad Beans, Cucumbers, Logan Berries, Blueberries
• June – Lettuce, Peas, Radish and Baby Cucumbers.
• June – How to Harvest your Broad Bean Pods
• June – Harvests
• July – Broad Beans, Peach, Blackberry’s, Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers & Mini Cucumbers
• July – Beans, Carrots, Kohl Rabi and first tomatoes
• July – How to Harvest a Tomato
• July – Harvests
• July – Colourful Salad Bowl Harvest
• August – How to Harvest Spring Garlic
• August – Blackberries, strawberries, Baby squash, ball courgettes, Carrots, French beans, spinach, tomatoes.
• August – Harvests
• August – 1 Courgette, 2 Courgette, 3 Courgette and more..
• August – A Colourful Palette of Orange & Red Sweet Peppers & Tomatoes
• August – How to Harvest Sweet Peppers
• August – And Finally… The Italian Job – Tomato Harvest
• August – Blue, Black, Rasp and StrawBerries Harvest
• August – The Humble Chive Plant – How To Harvest Free Seeds for Sowing Next Year
• August – Mange tout, french beans, lettuce & blackberry harvest
• September – Mini Melons Harvest Themselves 
• September – Growing Butternut Squashes in a Large Patio Pot & Harvesting Top Tips
• September – How to Harvest, Dry & Store Onions
• September – Harvests
• October – Autumn Vegetable Harvest – Baby Pumpkins, Petty Pan Squash, Butternut Squash, Peas, Kale, Spinach and Spring Greens
• October – Harvests
• November – Harvest A Leek with Me
• November – Sow, Grow, Harvest, Cook Parsnips
• November – And finally the Sweetcorn Harvest
• December – Kale & Cauliflower Harvest