[Ethel]

I've got quite a few squash plants producing really nicely, Rouge Vif d'etampes, Victor and uchiki Kuri are particularly vigorous, but I have one butternut (waltham) and an Ute Indian that are doing absolutely nothing other than producing occasional male flowers. As we're into August now I was thinking of pulling them up to make more space for the others (it is a bit crowded down there). Or should I give them a couple more weeks? Also, I can find info about how long from seed to ripe fruit with squash, but if anyone knows from experience, or could point me to info about how much time there is between setting of fruit to ripe fruit for different squash varieties I'd love to know. Thanks.

[JayG]

Squashes readily cross-pollinate so if you have several different plants there is always a chance of fruit set even if one plant only has female flowers.

Butternut squashes are usually amongst the slowest to develop and ripen, although of course there are many cultivars bred to do better in our climate.

For most of us, it probably is getting a bit borderline for plants which haven't set any fruit at all yet, although the weather is clearly a factor, and I'm not going to try to predict that, especially this year!

You will have up until (just before!) the first frost for the fruits to ripen in situ, although I usually find the plants have pretty much died back well before the frosts arrive. Squashes which haven't developed a hard skin won't keep as well as those which have fully ripened, but they will continue to ripen indoors and will still be edible as long as they managed to grow to a reasonable size.

[Mintyboy]

I  often find that Butternuts are very slow to do anything productive until the last minute, often well into August.The fruits swell pretty quickly once they get going, so as long as we get a reasonable September there is still hope.

[Ethel]

Thanks - maybe I'll give them a bit longer.

[sunshineband]

Mine area really slow this year for some reason,a lthough Ute Indian is doing OK, as is North Georgia Candy Roaster, but those butternuts, oh no, nary a thing yet. Let's hope they buck their ideas up... still time, so fingers crossed.
I'll not be pulling them out

[mumofstig]

Unless you want to plant something else in the space, you may just as well leave them in hope of getting something more to harvest

[Nobbie]

Mine are way ahead of last year when they just sulked until mid August before going mad and producing loads of big butternuts.

This year they are already romping away and just starting to set fruit, so I think yours should be fine.

Agree with previous poster, that once the fruit sets they grow very quickly.

[New shoot]

If you do get fruit, it is worth keeping those plants a bit pampered as well.  You need the leaves to keep in good condition for as long as possible, so water if it is dry and scatter a handful or two of fertiliser around.  I use pelleted chicken manure, but whatever you have is fine.  Also be ready with the fleece if it stats getting too cool overnight at the end of the season.

Once you have a couple of fruits per plant, take off the growing tips and also any more flowers and baby fruits.  You need them to focus all energy on the ones they have.

[Ethel]

Thanks for all the advice - i now have two female blooms about to open on the butternut!! Will hand pollinate just to make sure the job is done. Also found one Ute fruit I think; one of the arms of the plant had strayed into the queensland blue patch and I hadn't spotted it; everything is a bit of a tangle. Next year I'll give them a bit more space.