How are everyone's squashes doing?

[stevesmith91]

I have harvested three six inch marrows that set before a decent amount of male flowers had appeared. Turkish Turban squashes are doing well and beginning to swell. They are an autumn harvest. Butternuts have all there flower buds tightly closed.
The bed is over the top of a clay walled mound of horse manure covering and sealing in about 8 barrow loads of weed roots that were pulled up over winter after taking on my plot last December.
I added a layer of top soil to get them started and to allow them to choose there own level of fertilizer.

these look beautiful

[Plot70]

My turban pumpkins are doing a runner and are heading for some onions traveling past a marrow on the way.
Plenty of fruits have set and begun swelling.
I harvested another supermarket sized marrow too.
My camera just about survived the wet.

[Right Shed Fred]

This is a great thread - I’m growing squash for the first time this year after succumbing to the kids nagging that they want to grow their own Halloween pumpkins. (As if I’m gonna waste compost on giant inedible pumpkins...) it’s great to see how everyone’s squash are doing.

I’ve got two types of edible, carvable pumpkins going and one lone uchkiri winter squash. All are setting fruit fine (in my inexperienced opinion...) are rambling all over the place but some of the leaves in one bed are a little pale and yellow. Used liquid tomato feed for the first time to try to help them out.
There are slug trails on them, but I don’t see any damage. I have trimmed off some of the early leaves which look a bit battered now to discourage the slugs/snails.

[burnie]

My Butternuts in the greenhouse are growing, but no flowers yet, they seem a bit late this year, I don't think I planted them as early this year because of that cold snap we had.

[Plot70]

I have got two butternuts in the same bed as the marrows and turbans. The flowers remain tightly closed.
If they don't set soon there will be no time for them to ripen.

[Nicos]

As expected my butternut squash and potiron did die.
However my yellow courgettes are starting to produce!!!! some are already 2" long -so won't be long!!!

[ameno]

I have got two butternuts in the same bed as the marrows and turbans. The flowers remain tightly closed.
If they don't set soon there will be no time for them to ripen.

You're probably good until the end of July. Maybe.
I know from experience that were I am any winter squash which sets fruit before mid-August will definitely ripen in time, and any squash which sets before the end of August has maybe a 50:50 chance of ripening in time (one year I even had one which flowered on the 7th September which managed to grow to 5kg and ripen before the plants died).
But, I don't grow butternut and I know they take longer to mature than other winter squash, plus you're further north than me. I think end of July is still reasonable, though.

[ameno]

An update on mine.

Here are the plants taking over the plot:
https://i.imgur.com/ZSOMYkq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Ho1RMGI.jpg


And here are my developing squashes:
https://i.imgur.com/MfvrLbg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JBCmWxg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xBnYIo4.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hv7ZmHK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bzEdjSs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qMjukd4.jpg

That last one is actually starting to ripen already (you can see it's changing from yellow to a salmon pink).

[Plot70]

An update on mine.

Here are the plants taking over the plot:
https://i.imgur.com/ZSOMYkq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Ho1RMGI.jpg


And here are my developing squashes:
https://i.imgur.com/MfvrLbg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JBCmWxg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xBnYIo4.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hv7ZmHK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bzEdjSs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qMjukd4.jpg

That last one is actually starting to ripen already (you can see it's changing from yellow to a salmon pink).

Those are doing as well as mine all be it a lot further south than me.
I cheated with an active rotting manure heater under the bed.

[ameno]

Those are doing as well as mine all be it a lot further south than me.
I cheated with an active rotting manure heater under the bed.

Speaking of heat, the two plants I planted in the compost bin really romped away in the beginning, far faster than the other six, presumably be, cause of the heat from the compost heap (it was pretty warm), but they've slowed down in recent weeks, especially the one which already has a big fruit on it, and the ones in the ground have well overtaken them. I suspect it's because the compost bin dries out quicker, so unless I water them copiously they don't have the water to support quite such fast growth.
Well, they were spare plants, anyway, so as long as I get at least one decent sized fruit each from them I'll be happy.

[Plot70]

My raised bed is quite substantial. There are small air gaps in the clay walls so that allow the heat to escape. The clay blocks were full of couch grass roots and in there heat shield roll have shaded the compost from drying winds and solar heating unlike a formal compost bin.
The couch grass roots took the full solar heat and very few have sprouted again.
Now that I have got more leaf cover the compost is retaining the moisture better.
Once the manure layer is gone there is the pickled couch grass roots below.
The leaves are nice and green and there are plenty of fruits.

[peanut]

My squashes are only just starting to form buds. I'm feeling a little behind, again.

[Jonny.D]

Baby Boo



Indomatrone



& 1 of the Lakota's which I think is nearly ready to harvest, I ended up with 1 large fruit on each plant as subsequent fruits "Fell off"

[SimpleSimon]

My butternuts are absolutely out of control. They are chasing me round the allotment and growing down all the paths and into the other beds. These were planted into about 6 inches of very fresh manure..

[Plot70]

My butternuts have just started vineing and still have tightly closed flowers.
Those two turbans in post#31 have doubled in size in a week and the vines are heading into all the other beds.