Although it has little or no nutritional value, peat moss will help acidify the soil. Chopped leaves are also helpful.

Ron
The Garden Guy
http://www.TheGardenGuy.org

Your slow to ripen plants could simply be due to weather. In Wisconsin it is pretty much universally agreed upon by locals that 2008 did no favors for the maturation of warm season crops.

Excess nitrogen (manures) could result in large plants with little fruit as well.

A *serious* pH problem could also explain it.

Unfortunately your post doesn't provide enough information to determine the likely cause of slow ripening.

Lots of manure and little or no vegetative waste can result in a soil with too much Nitrogen which will cause lush, green growth with little fruit production. Your soil is alkaline because of lack of rainfall, and probably a sodic soil (high in undisolved salts), and what you need is lots of vegetative waste which is hard to get because of the lack of rainfall. Cover crops can help build up the amount of organic matter in your soil, and you may even need to resort to using peat moss. However, to get enough organic matter into your soil with peat moss will be very expensive. If you have not yet talked with the people at your New Mexico State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service local office do so.

Here is a link that might be useful: NMSU CES

"Lots" of manure also means "lots" of salts. This is a particular concern in arid regions with little rain fall to flush excess salts out of the root zone. If that's your situation, make sure that when you water, you apply enough water for the plants' requirements, and then water a little more to flush salts every time you irrigate. This may mean watering more deeply but less frequently to avoid creating anaerobic soil conditions and an environment that could favor root and crown diseases. You also mentioned high lime. If your soil is alkaline (which is a pretty good bet in a high lime soil in the American South West), that can decrease the availability of plant nutrients, which can stress plants and decrease yield. In that case, an application of soil sulfur could help adjust the pH downward over time. How much depends on how alkaline, what texture the soil is, and how much lime you have.
I highly recommend a soil test that checks salinity, lime content and pH. Boron would be nice too because some manures add a healthy dose of that nutrient, which can quickly reach toxic levels, especially with repeated applications because boron is very non-mobile in the soil and tends to accumulate.

Thank you for the messages and help.

I got lots of squash. Never ripened. Huge blue hubbards. The largest being 30.5 and smallest around 15 pounds. The tomatoes didn't start to produce until the middle of September and never ripened. The first frost was October 13, (go figure). A lot of the squash got some freeze. Most recovered during the day, that is to say they turned the same color shortly .. I had the butternut, lots of squash, didn't ripen either. I am trying to save some of that also. (I am told that they will ripen eventually. Hopefully this is true.)

The growing season for 100 days or more was well into that. I didn't plant late.

Should I have killed some of the vines for faster ripening or should I have covered the squash to promote darker days? I don't have a clue what I have done wrong? The rest of the garden was ok. Beans, Peas, Cukes, Radishes, Lettuce, all of the summer stuff. The winter crops didn't ripen.

I feel terrible about all of the squashes. The tomatoes I will trade for with a neighbor so I am covered on that.
My garden must be organic. I am raising my granddaughter and want the very best for her.

We are on top of the mountain, 7640 feet elevation high desert of New Mexico: arid but I have a well so watering isn't a factor. Dry weather until the end of July then monsoons for a month every year. I hope this is helpful? Am I missing anything?

Thank you for all the help. I certainly need it.

Sincerely,
Nantinki Rose

"Killing" some of the vine will not help with fruit ripening, but picking off extra blossoms can direct all the plants energy into the remaining fruit which could hasten ripening. Keep in mind that the only reason a squash plant produces fruits is for the seeds that fruit has to propagate the species, those plants do not grow fruits for the sole purpose of feeding us.

I would definitely get your soil tested. Adding that much manure may of threw the Nitrogen value out of whack for this growing season but will help next year. I would add compost and leaves to the garden in large amounts to help get the soil conditioned. You can also compost some of that manure to help out. It will make a great finished product. Oddly enough here in the St. Louis Mo area I had one heck of a time with my tomatoes ripening also but thank goodness we haven't had a frost yet and I'm still pulling ripe ones off.

You can continue to do organic it just may take a year or two to get your soil in the best conditions for producing. The biggest part now it add as much organic matter to your soil as possible.