Squash

[annie8]

My uchiki kuri and crown Prince are growing really well. The kuri seem to be happy to climb up the frame we built. Just wondering is people limit the amount of squash to make sure they ripen. They both seem to be developing lots and am worried given how north I am that the season will end and I’ll be left with lots of unripe ones, particularly the crown Prince.

[ameno]

I never limit mine. I don't think it makes a difference to ripening speed, actually, just size of individual fruits (fewer fruits means larger fruits).
I find large-fruited varieties tend to be self-limiting, anyway, and will start to abort further female flowers once they already have 2-4 fruits set.
Here in Somerset, I find any fruit which sets before mid-August will always ripen before the first frost, and any that sets before then end of August usually will unless we get a rather cold September and October. Last year I even had one set 12th September and it still managed to grow to full size and almost fully ripen (and it ripened the rest of the way indoors) by the beginning of November.

Also, if you're used to growing butternuts, you will find that Cucurbita maxima varieties (as the two you are growing are) will mature and ripen quicker and more easily in our cool climate than butternuts do.

[Plot70]

With winter squashes I leave all of them on and from the end of August start harvesting the ones that set later as if they were summer squashes.
The ripe ones are all lined up roughly in order of setting for use over winter.
Last year I only had two that rotted. One had a split stem and rotted completely on the vine and the other was spotted in storage and most of it was saved.

[annie8]

Thanks will just leave. They do seem to be growing and spreading at a ridiculous rate. Have noticed a few have this kind of marking on the skin. Just took them off but wonders if it was something I should be concerned about.

[SimpleSimon]

It might just be badly polinated so was starting to rot and drop off. I get a few every year that don't polinate properly and start to swell before stopping and rotting. Usually you can tell as a fruit that's polinated properly looks shiny and swells rapidly.

If I don't have enough fruit set by early aug I'll do it by hand but it's a pain as you need to stop the male flowers from opening in the morning with an elastic band. If you don't the bees will have took most of the pollen before you get there.

[Plot70]

This year my squash flowers have mostly been crammed full of pollen beetles and have been pollinated pretty well.
Last year I had white tailed bees nesting under the tool shed. They did a good job.

[annie8]

That’s fine, suspected it was that. Its the first year growing them so am pretty chuffed if I get anything. There are plenty that are looking fine and getting to about lime size.

[ameno]

Those are still small enough that you can't yet guarantee they have pollinated properly, I'm afraid to say.
Squash fruit can still abort due to insufficient pollination anywhere up to at least tennis ball size, and sometimes even fist size.

Where I am I find insects to be very unreliable pollinators of squash, so i always do my best to hand-pollinate.

[annie8]

Mm well might get my wee brush out then and give a bit of help.

[ameno]

Mm well might get my wee brush out then and give a bit of help.

I wouldn't bother using a brush. More faff than it's worth.
Just pluck off a male flower, tear off the petals, and then rub the pollen directly onto the stigma of a female flower. Just be sure to select a male flower which actually still has pollen on it; the bees have a habit of taking all the pollen early in the day and still not pollinating the female flowers.

[Ms-T]

^^^^ My friend was horrified that i did this

[ameno]

^^^^ My friend was horrified that i did this

Why were they horrified?

[Ms-T]

I don't really know ...but they said they could not do that.

[annie8]

Stil, losing a fair few because of poor pollination. Learning for next year is to plant less in the bed as think the bees are struggling to get to the flowers. Although i went with the spacing on the packet they have all grown like crazy so will reduce a bit next year. That said The squash that have taken are looking great and getting bigger by the day. Onion squash is certainly the size of large onions now.

[Plot70]

I have had a few abort but the ones that have set are larger than expected especially with marrows. Very few flying saucer marrows have aborted.
Winter squashes have been setting at about the same rate as last year when I had a bumble bees nest under the tool shed.