Winter Squash ?
 

fruit finally set on my Waltham Butternuts, anyone know how many days til maturity after the fruit has set. Thanks.

They come along pretty quickly after setting fruit. I would imagine about 30 days, but I've never counted. Do you find that your squash are late this year? Last year I was harvesting squash in July. This year, I just pollinated my first female blossom today.

Sorry I don't have a # of days. I just wait until the stem coming off the fruit turns brown. Then give them a couple days in the sun on each side and I have Butternuts till spring.

[QUOTE=fortyonenorth;228064]They come along pretty quickly after setting fruit. I would imagine about 30 days, but I've never counted. Do you find that your squash are late this year? Last year I was harvesting squash in July. This year, I just pollinated my first female blossom today.[/QUOTE]

Hey forty,

this is my first season growing them so I dont know, but my Cukes have really taken awhile to get going and my maters are a little late this year, had my first red Brandy a week ago, yet my all my different cherries and Earlys are still not ripe. I'm hoping by Sunday I can finally have a few.

BTW- the Ramapo is doing great, got 2 plants going:)

I'm not sure of number of days either, here in zone five I usually harvest them before fall frost..

No days needed, they turn a little brown from green and the plant will turn brown also. No problem leaving then in the garden longer, have 7 of then in my garden now 2-3 lbs each.

Just ate one yesterday. It was delishous

I got some odd wilt happening, is this normal in the plants cycle of life? Half the plant has leafs doing well & the other half is dead. The crop took a massive hit 2 weeks ago during Irene, so that might have something to do with it, but the fruit seem unaffected.

no it is september. a week before labor day weekend the winter squash plants look like they did for the prior month, a jungle. on labor day weekend you can see the squash and the ground. the plants are dying from shorter days, less heat during the day and night, the sun is quite a bit weaker now as we are just 10 days from the equinox. things are on schedule as usual.

tom

[QUOTE=tjg911;233172]no it is september. a week before labor day weekend the winter squash plants look like they did for the prior month, a jungle. on labor day weekend you can see the squash and the ground. the plants are dying from shorter days, less heat during the day and night, the sun is quite a bit weaker now as we are just 10 days from the equinox. things are on schedule as usual.

tom[/QUOTE]

Zucchini rampicante and Musquee de provence look healthier than they have in months. Butternuts, are exactly as you said.

[QUOTE=FILMNET;228235]No days needed, they turn a little brown from green and the plant will turn brown also. No problem leaving then in the garden longer, have 7 of then in my garden now 2-3 lbs each.[/QUOTE]

Rabbits have started eating mine, so I'm picking them ASAP. When they turn tan, I grab them. I sprinkled the plants with cayenne pepper, don't know yet whether it worked or they just took a break.

Forty one north- just noticed your avatar. I bought some pumpkins like that last night at the Mexican grocery called Castillo. A Mexican lady was buying a whole cartful and told me they were the best squash so I bought two twenty pounders. She said to use the Mexican brown sugar ( piloncillo) or honey, raisins, nuts, etc, on them. She bought some 30-40 pounders that she said were for a Thanksgiving " appetizer" that she makes and also pie.
I was wondering how you like them and if I need to run the meat through a food mill? Is it stringy? I'd like to use it for soups and pies, what I don't use as meals for myself with brown sugar/ cinnamon. I'm going to cook at least one today and freeze smaller quantities for myself and recipes. My husband isn't much of a squash eater.
I love the Japanese Kabocha squash but these pumpkins are less than half the price so how can I resist?

I'm growing both butternuts and Pennsylvania longneck and haven't worried about maturation time because we have been eating both as green summer squash. We eat them all the way from green to light orange, panfried in butter. I think we like them better that way rather than the stronger flavor of the mature orange flesh. When they are green the seed chamber can be eaten, but it is such a small proportion of the fruit on the longnecks that there is no rush to harvest the green ones when they are small.

most of my plants took a beating during Irene,my tomato plants were never the same, my squash develop a wilt, but managed to pres on. I have around 15 butternut squash, the bigger ones I suspect are the Walthams and the small ones seem to be of the burpee hybrid variety.
Giving them another week or so, before harvesting.

This is how i ripen my Waltham Butternut