It is not easy to be patient and wait for the first ripe squash. It doesn't grow any faster, no matter how often you inspect it. But I continue to inspect the squash often so I won't have surprise squash bug invasions ruining the anticipated harvest.
It makes me happy to see a lot of blossoms. More each day. The lavender plant that attracts a bunch of bees to the yard is about 20 feet away. I am hopeful they will pollinate the squash flowers. There are also salvia plants, bee balm, a small different lavender, and pineapple sage, even closer, to attract bees and pollinators. The borage and clover haven't grown enough to flower yet, but they are within five feet of the squash bed.
I never had much squash to harvest when I previously grew them in Denver. I didn't plant very many plants and there weren't a lot of flowers. I had sunflower volunteers to attract the bees, but didn't get much. What I did harvest, I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope I am a better gardener after all these years. At least I was smart enough to plant more seeds this time around. Although I can't yet tell which are spaghetti and which are the butternut squash plants. They are getting tangled up together. Today's project is to use some twine to control the vines.
