I've got a volunteer Waltham Butternut Squash vine that's taking over the whole back third of my garden. Frankly, it's a real trick getting around back there. I have to take a hoe and lift the vine here and there to make a place to stand so that I can harvest tomatoes there. I've got nine good sized squash coming along just fine and I don't see any reason to try and grow more. But, I'm concerned that cutting this plant back will leave it vulnerable to insects and disease. Squash vines are hollow like soda straws unlike tomato vines that I'm always cutting back as they get in my way.
Yes, but ... Hi Yes, so far as I know you can prune the squash. However, it's a good idea to wait with the pruning until the vines are at least four to five feet long, if you want to give the squash the best conditions. But in your case the squash seems to take up a lot of space. It all depends on what you want to do. If you prune the squash you'll probably get larger squash. But if you want much squash (in quantity) then it's best to redirect the vines in another direction. You can either trellis them or use sticks (that you put into the ground) to direct them. Another solution is to let the squash grow vertically. I know that some gardeners bamboo teepees for this purpose. But again, if I've understood you correctly, you say that you have enough squash. What you want is not more squash but more space. And then the answer is probably to prune it - or grow it vertically. Best, Anette
Thanks for your help. I went out back and pruned that squash vine. Then, I chopped up the trimmings and put them in the compost pile. Now I can walk around in the back section of my garden. I also traced several of the runners again because after I'd trimmed so much plant material, I figured that there had to be more than one plant. There wasn't.
You're hearty welcome. Just glad to help. :-D It must really have been a biiig squash vine. But I'm glad to hear that you now have more space in your garden. To be honest, pruning plants is one of the tasks that I tend to postpone a bit. I guess it's because I love the plants so much that it really hurts to see them go. After all, I've watched them grow - from the first hesitant beginnings and up to today. But once I've get it done I almost always enjoy the final result. And after some time the plant seems to be doing fine. Best, Anette
We once (Unknowingly)got a cucuzza gourd in a packet of zucchini plants. Thinking we would just set it out at the edge of the garden and see what it turned out to be, we waited and it grew and grew and grew. No coice but to snip here and there. It grew up the bushes along the creek and up a tree. The small fruits died as soon as we found them, but it kept growing. Re The plant that ate Flat Rock. LOL Finally we found a few that survived, hanging in the bush hidden from view. Some were small enough to eat, but two were like baseball bats. I rather like surprises, don't you?
Yes, I do like to let an occasional volunteer grow in my garden. But, I don't always get lucky like I did with the Butternut squash. I once had some sort melon come up that was just nasty. It made fruit that tasted sort of like over ripe cucumbers.
