How many days do you have until your average first frost? If they are getting pollinated now I think you have time for them to ripen. Sunlight typically makes squash mature faster, so if your developing squash are shaded by leaves you can remove a few of the leaves around the squash.

Hi Trev,

It's hard to estimate first frost here in Holland. Some years it's in Oct, sometimes it's not till Feb. We've a very temperate climate similar to the pacific NW, I guess. Unfortuately also not terribly warm and very wet. I'm battling powdery mildew all of a sudden.

The recent squash are growing like mad, already half the size of the one mature squash that took 1.5 months to ripen. I have hopes that they'll mature in time. Thanks for the tip about letting the sun shine on the squash. Now for some sun!

Susanne

1.5 months is average. You can expect it to take 1-2 months from flower to mature fruit. So if your frost is at the end of October or later you should have plenty of time for fruits forming now to mature.

Thanks so much Trev. And you succinctly answered another question - how long is the normal time from flower to harvest.

I'm already researching what type of winter squash I want to try growing next year. This time I'm going for "real" seeds, not ones from a store-bought squash. Maybe suggestions for types will be a good separate topic.

Thanks again for all the help you give us newbies.