Looking very good. I would hold off on culling.

Thanks, ds !

How do you decide when to thin them out?
Do you wait until some are blooming?

Lookin' good! Isn't it amazing how fast they grow! Now that they're getting true leaves, they should REALLY get going! If I remember right, your's can trail over the sides of your garden, can't they? If so, I wouldn't remove any, I'd just aim them all toward the sides and let them flop all over the place! If you need to try to contain them within the frame, I think it's gonna be too crowded. Aren't they looking great compared to last year! It was you who had the wimpy looking ones that didn't do anything last year, wasn't it???

Zucchini bread coming up,
Skybird

Ditto what Sky says... The one at 10:00 position looks wimpy but it has a lot of space to grow.

Zucchini bread coming up,
Skybird

A secret for acceptance of Z Bread... throw in some chocolate chips!!!!

".. throw in some chocolate chips!!!!"

Absolutely! And lemon with poppy seeds is yummy too!

:-)
Skybird

P.S.. Chocolate chips are WONDERFUL in banana bread too! I use the mini chips so they spread out evenly.

Hi Skybird!
It's just thrilling , isn't it!?

"If I remember right, your's can trail over the sides of your garde
n, can't they?"

Yep, there is room for them to hang over the sides:

{{gwi:69420}}

" If so, I wouldn't remove any, I'd just aim them all toward the sides and let them flop all over the place! If you need to try to contain them within the frame, I think it's gonna be too crowded."

Do you see those tomato cages? Is it possible for squash to be trained to grow up the cages?

" Aren't they looking great compared to last year! It was you who had the wimpy looking ones that didn't do anything last year, wasn't it???"

Yes they're GORGEOUS compared to last year! And yes indeed, those poor wimpy ones last year were mine!

Here they are..poor little things..

But, since I've been listening to you, and the other smart wonderful gardeners, they really might thrive! And if I get zillions of these yummy squash growing, I'll be happy to share! If you've never been in the South, and tasted these amazing gems, you're in for a treat!

Thanks so much for the great advice from the Rocky Mt GW!

Betty

Banana bread (and Carrot bread) if made properly does not need CC!!!

Uhh, you don't know this yet, B2, but summer squash leaves get HUGE,
so use the tomato cages on something else, and just lean your plants toward the edges of the bed as they grow---and let 'em do their thing!

This doesn't show the size really well, 'cause as the leaves start to get mildew later in summer, I keep cutting off all the older/larger leaves to get rid of as much mildew as possible, so this pic it mostly newer, smaller leaves---but it kind of gives you an idea of what to expect!!!

Watch and marvel,
Skybird

P.S. DS, EVERYTHING is better with chocolate chips in it! Chocoholic here!!!;-)

Hmm, ds... chocolate chips...I wonder if that would add some zip if I made squash bread!

Every now and then, my Whole Foods (on 92nd and Sheridan) will have a small batch of crooknecks in the produce section, usually imported from Mexico or Chile. When I see them, I snap them all up!

Last time I saw them, here is what I fixed:
-12 crooknecks, sliced
-1 onion sliced
-1 cup frozen chopped spinach
-1 tsp olive oil
-1 defrosted frozen dinner (I can't remember which one!)

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add sliced squash and heat over low heat until soft. And other ingredients and heat it up. Yum!

b2alicia, that made my mouth water.

Had the first of this season's yellow straight neck squash last night. Just sliced it up and sauteed it with butter and garlic. Everyone thought it was great, but commented on how it won't be so great by September, when we've had it every week.

FWIW, I do make a lot of other things with summer squash, including quiche, cakes and bread, so the family doesn't really suffer that much.

Ours will be harvested soon, I don't mind putting them off a bit so we aren't tired of them by Sept. All in containers. The BH promises Zbread this year, but I didn't plant any! ;o)

Dan

cnetter, I'd love to hear more about how you fix them. Quiche? Sounds great!

Dan, how do you store them? What kind of containers?

Thanks!

Oh my!

This picture was taken on Sunday, 7/3/11.

And today, it looks like this! And I think I can see the beginnings of some flowers sprouting!

{{gwi:69424}}

07/03/11

7/06/11

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Thanks Rky Mt gardeners!
Betty

Still happy with an extreame attitude. You are going to have to check those puppies every evening or you are going to be lumbered with straight to the compost logs!!! I know because most non-gardeners and even so so cooks know what the logs are good for!

You mean, making sure to pick them before they get over-ripe?

Yep! I agree!

Not so much over ripe but so big that they are full of huge seeds that require cutting out most of center to do anything with them.

Ah!

Gotcha!

Squash are so impressive with their fast growth rate. I love them for that, though they can overwhelm you with fruits. I'm always happy growing them though. This year we have yellow crookneck and acorn squash. The past couple years we grew Costata Romanesco zucchini, which bore so much fruit I am still tired of zucchini, and a small delicata type that didn't do well for me.

Yours look bright green and gorgeous!

Thanks, jnfr!

I was just about to go out an hour ago, and take a shot of them (They're HUGE),
but that was before the typhoon blew through. ;)

I think I'll wait until tomorrow- - -

Don't forget that your compost pile is always hungry. Even if you don't have chickens - which love squash and that entire family.

There's no reason to leave over-sized fruit on the vines. I mean, beyond the excuse that you have to be out there so very often to cut them off.

No doubt, it is easier to make use of the little 6" ones in the kitchen since they don't require baking, anyway.

BTW - I really like delicata squash but after having 1 good season when the vines were able to mature lots of fruits, I failed on the next few season. Tried a bush variety later, without success.

Here's Wishing You the Best, B2alicia!

Steve

Ok...

Way back on 7/3/11

This morning!

{{gwi:69425}}

And lookie!!!

{{gwi:69427}}

Is that a baby squash already??

I'm simply amazed!!

That's a female flower with a baby squash--waiting to be fertilized! If it doesn't get pollinated when it blooms, the "cute little squash" will shrivel up and fall off! If it gets pollinated---you've got squash!!! Sometimes female flowers get going before the boys show up, so there's nothing to pollinate them with, so don't be too disappointed if your first flowers don't get pollinated. Blame it on the guys!!! The male flowers don't have the tiny baby squash at the bottom, so if you have any males when the females open, you can take a little paint brush and pollinate them yourself, just to be sure.

Happy watching,
Skybird

P.S. Remember your idea to use tomato cages on them? What do you think about trying that NOW??? ;-) They look just a little bit different than your squash from last year! :-)

Here they are today.

Hoping to start picking some soon!
I'm simply amazed.

{{gwi:69428}}

Those really are looking good, b2alicia!! What kind of squash is it? We planted a couple of squashes for the first this year, too - and you are so right, simply amazing at the growth rate. Especially the sphagetti squash we have - incredible!! I keep cutting some of the vines off because it's overtaking the garden. Have several squashes started already. I have a yellow squash too somewhere - gotta find it, though ;^) I made a chart to keep track of where we planted what, but I just now remembered about the other squash so going to have to double check where it is.

We planted some gourds and pumpkins as well, and they are doing great as well. Maybe a bumper crop year for the squash family of plants!

Marj

Thank you Marj!

Back in January, I started asking the GW veggie gardeners where they ordered their seeds. I picked a company called Twilley's, and chose 3 different varieties of yellow crookneck...Horn of Plenty, Gentry, and Supersett.

I chose these for their hardiness, resistance to disease, rapid maturation rate, and yummy taste. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: yellow crooknecks, with recipes

Hey B2,
Congrats on the squash. I was wondering what the water bottles were for. Was it to warm up the soil for an earlier planting?
thanks.

Thanks, Lesuko!

Well, the bottles were originally an idea for a back-up watering plan. I punched small holes around the bottom of the water bottles, so if they needed extra water, I could fill them up and let them drip.

The soaker hose works just great, though. I run it on a slow trickle for about 10 minutes every 3-4 days.

So, the bottles just turned out to be "spacers", so I could save money on the compost used for feeding the baby squashies.

And here's my current crop! :)

Looks like I'll be doing some cooking soon!

Betty

Ah- I see. that sounds like a good idea.

Wow, that's a great bunch of squash already. Mine got off to a slow start this year, and while the acorn squash babies are already good sized, I'm just seeing my first yellow crookneck. Can't wait!

Okay
This little raised bed may no longer be big enough!
What are these tendril thingies on the winter squash??

Hi B2,

The tendril thingies are-----ta-da-----tendrils! :-)

Some squash can climb, like cukes, but with squash if you're gonna let 'em climb up something be sure it's sturdy enough to be able to support the weight of the squash.

Lookin' GOOD!

Skybird