I am seeing the same thing. I actually am growing Hubbards and Acorns, and I am seeing female flowers on them even before the males, and have been puzzled by that. In fact, a few days ago I picked off 2 huge female flowers from one of my Hubbard plants (and ate them in a salad :) ) because there were no males to pollinate. Yesterday I got a male to open finally. I wonder if its the cold weather this spring? Dan, your also in TX, and we've had a lot of ups and downs. I wonder if the cold snaps have caused the plants to rush into production? In fact, tonight they are forecasting upper 30s... yikes. I hope my squash plants don't get affected too badly. Regarding them being bred to produce more, my experience throws that out the window.. I am growing hierloom varietiess... my Hubbard is the regular hierloom Blue Hubbard, and my acorn is Table Queen, also an hierloom variety. This post was edited by ccabal on Thu, May 2, 13 at 16:36

Quote: * Posted by aspen0 z5 MI (My Page) on Sun, Oct 5, 08 at 17:24 No no... We had a FREAK frost, we will not have another one for 3 weeks or so, and many leaves have been killed, but not all. So the vines are still alive, just without most of their leaves, meanwhile the squash are large, but unripe. I can leave the squash outside for another 3 weeks without risk of frost, so worrying about future frost isn't the issue. ---------------- If you can leave them on the frost damaged vine, the squash will ripen similarly to a squash on a healthy vine. Leave them on until the section of vine nearest the squash changes color from green to tan, and dries out. The vine end may not get "corky" as it would on a healthy plant, and it will appear smaller in diameter and slightly shriveled (a tell tale sign that the vine was frosted.) However, many garden pests become more aggressive after a frost and go in search of any surviving plant life they can attack. So keep a lookout for pest damage, and consider harvesting the squash if they are getting damaged.

That looks great! I was thinking of making beef stew this weekend and I still have butternuts from the garden.

Oh fer cryin' out loud...You all are invited, and that includes this party and all future soup parties, too! LOL Yep, it's gonna be a fun night. Here are the recipes for those that reqested them. Marilyn's Lasagna Soup 1 pound ground beef (sirloin or chuck) 1 large onion; chopped 5 cloves garlic; minced 4 cups beef broth 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes 15 oz. can diced tomatoes 1 can Campbells tomato soup 1 teaspoon dried basil 4 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/4 cup mafalda pasta (mini lasagna noodles) Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese Brown ground beef in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and continue to cook until onions are tender, stir in garlic and sauté for another minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, soup and basil; bring to a simmer and cook covered for 30 minutes to blend flavors. Meanwhile cook pasta until al dente, drain and toss with olive oil. Add spinach and pasta to the soup and simmer uncovered until spinach wilts, 1 or 2 minutes. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper. To serve, place 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese in the bottom of bowl and ladle hot soup on top to melt cheese. Garnish top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Serves 4 generously. Recipe inspired by Lasagna Soup from Cuisine at Home magazine. Marilyn Big EdÂs Cajun Shrimp Soup From allrecipes.com 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 1/4 cup sliced green onions 1 clove garlic, minced 3 cups tomato\-vegetable juice cocktail 1 (8 ounce) bottle clam juice 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup uncooked long\-grain white rice 3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined hot pepper sauce to taste Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute green bell pepper, onions, and garlic until tender. Stir in vegetable juice, clam juice, and water. Season with thyme, basil, red pepper, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice. Reduce heat, and cover. Simmer 15 minutes, until rice is tender. Stir in shrimp, and cook 5 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Remove the bay leaf, and season with hot sauce. Yield: 6 servings Sherried Brie and Mushroom Soup Makes 8 cups 1 pound Brie cheese 2 cups dry sherry 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup minced shallots 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons flour 4 cups low-sodium beef broth 1 3/4 cups half and half 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh chives, for garnish Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Trim the rind from the brie and then roughly tear it into 2-inch pieces. (It is easy to trim if you first place the cheese in the freezer for 30 minutes or until it is sufficiently hard.) Set aside. In a small saucepan, reduce the sherry over medium-high heat to 1 cup. Set aside. in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and lemon juice and cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the flour, and stir until the flour is fully incorporated. Return the mixture to heat and add the beef broth and reserved sherry. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the trimmed Brie, stirring until the cheese has melted. Add the half and half and pepper and continue to simmer without boiling for 5 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. To serve, ladle the soup into separate bowls and garnish each with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the chives. Linda