Turks Turban Squash

[Lymmguineas]

Hi Everyone,
I've grown a variety of squash this year and most have done really well.
The only problem I have is with my Turks Turban squash which I've grown for the first time.
I've got about four squash from the plants and they're all a good size. Certainly bigger than any I've seen in shops or on other allotments in previous years. The only problem is that they are still completely green. There's no other colour on them at all.
I know they should be orange but are they likely to change colour at this late stage?
Will they still be edible if they remain green?
Any advice welcome!
David

[ameno]

When did the fruit set and where do you live?
I find any (non-butternut) squash which sets fruit before mid-August should definitely ripen before the first frosts down here in the South, and there are good odds on anything set before the end of August ripening.

Either way, just leave them on the plant as long as possible (either until the plant dies or frost is due, whichever comes first). If they are still not ripe when you pick them, leave them somewhere warm-ish (mid to high teens, ideally) and well-ventilated, and they should ripen further in storage over the course of a month or two.

Bear in mind that squash don't always change colour properly, due to various factors. There are better ways to judge ripeness than colour: the squash should sound hollow when rapped; the skin should be fairly dull and matte in appearance (immature squashes are shiny, and this is lost in maturity); and most importantly, the stalk should be brown and corky all over.

Even if it never ripens fully, it's still perfectly edible. Unripe winter squash taste more like summer squash, though, which is a bit bland, so try to get them to ripen if you can.

[Plot70]

I was given a packet of seeds when I first took on my allotment last December so it is also my first year with these squashes.
I have got some that started off yellow and ripened to orange and others that started off green and very slowly ripened to orange.
The green ones were slowest to ripen and remained green without the fruit being exposed to full sunlight this year without aircraft trails in the sky.

I got the plants started early in a raised bed over steaming hot rotting horse manure that was used to create a sealed chamber that was used to kill a massive pile of couch grass and bind weed roots with the shed latrine tank tipped in for good measure. They were planted in large plugs of normal top soil in the top of this hot bed. I had to chain the plants down to stop the wind ripping them out of the bed.
The bottom heat kept that late frost off and I got a good crop with the larger fruits getting close to 10Kg.
I have already posted some photos in the squash thread.
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...es-doing/page9

[ameno]

The bottom heat kept that late frost off and I got a good crop with the larger fruits getting close to 10Kg.

Which is massive, by the way.
Normally, Turk's Turban only grow to 2-3kg each. Must be thanks to what you fed them.

[Lymmguineas]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm in Cheshire.
The Turks turban plants were given to me by another plot holder so I'm not sure if the seeds were sown later than my other squash.
Other squash varieties that she gave me though have ripened without any problem.
Similarly, the ones I've grown from seed myself have all ripened.
I didn't notice when the fruits set but I'm fairly sure it was August.
Hopefully I can leave them in a few more weeks to see if they ripen.
There's no foliage round them now so they should get full sun although I'm not sure we will get any more sun judging by the weather forecast here!

[Plot70]

Which is massive, by the way.
Normally, Turk's Turban only grow to 2-3kg each. Must be thanks to what you fed them.

I made a mistake with the scales. I thought I had set it to KG but the thing had jumped back to pounds.
They are closer to 5Kg.
I spotted one on sale in Aldi for 79p. It was about the size of my fist.
The frost has done all the leaves now so they are all at home.
I spotted another with a bug hole in the stalk so that is more home made cook in pots to be made for stews over winter.

[ameno]

I made a mistake with the scales. I thought I had set it to KG but the thing had jumped back to pounds.
They are closer to 5Kg.
I spotted one on sale in Aldi for 79p. It was about the size of my fist.
The frost has done all the leaves now so they are all at home.
I spotted another with a bug hole in the stalk so that is more home made cook in pots to be made for stews over winter.

I thought that picture of it on the scale you uploaded seemed a bit small for a 10kg squash. 10lbs is more reasonable. Still pretty big for Turks Turban, but not stupidly big.

And I've seen those ones in Aldi, and at the time I thought they were tiny. Back when I grew Turks Turban, they usually reached around 2kg, and I think that's normal for them. Those tiny ones must have been a poor crop or something.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about bug holes in the stalk. Not unless the stalk or fruit actually starts rotting. I frequently have the outer layer of the stalk riddled with woodlice, to the point that the whole outer layer just crumbles away, but it never seems to affect the overall integrity of the stalk or keeping qualities of the squash.

[Plot70]

I have had to be careful with insects.
I lost one because the stem cracked and let insects into the fruit and a second one had woodlice in the stalk that has just made it to the seeds so this second one had to be chopped up and blanched for freezing for making marmalade when the oranges come in in January.
I still have about 20 fruits in storage indoors including several that are not all that ripe and plenty of grumbles about the space they are taking up.
I am also tasked with preparing them due to the tough skin.
We have got loads of casserole fillings to try in them over the winter.
The packet of seeds came with two sealed foil wraps inside and a 2021 date so more next year.