If by SF you mean San Francisco, I think your window for squash growing has passed. Squash need long days and heat for fruit development and ripening and by midOctober, you have neither. These should have been planted early enough that they are up to full size and even harvested by now.

You might see a bit more growth but I wouldn't hold out for much of a harvest at this point.

Pot used and hence plant is not big enough to get much production anyway.

Flower may have not been pollinated.

Thank you all for good suggestions. Yes, I am in San Francisco. Though weather is still great. Embothrium, you mentioned that pot size is small. For the future, what would be a good size pot for squash? Jim, you mentioned pollination. I saw bees around plant. Though, it had only 1 flower. Does squash have to have both male and female flowers to pollinate?

I think it takes two to tango;, a male and a female.

The flower in the picture is male so it would never produce a squash. There is an aborted fruit in the top picture which presumably didn’t get pollinated in time. There appear to be some female flower buds coming along. With only one plant you lessen the chances of getting male and female open at the same time.

I think you did not provide an environment suitable to growing squash.

I used to live in San Jose, squash grew well in the yard.

Have you considered purchasing local gardening books such as Ortho or Sunset. Do you follow the garden page on the Chronicle?

I recommend 3 plants, in 40-50 gal container.

it is not cost productive to grow squash in SF. Which District?

Sunset

Thank you for the great suggestions. Hopefully, next season I'll be better prepared to grow squash.

I think of the Sunset District, both clear and foggy. Some homes with sun, some not.

Your results are a reflection of your skills and environment. You did what you did.

Why squash? $1/pound from Salinas.

Next season, try to grow something that is ethnic or expensive, not a generic plant whose product that is available from local farms for less than it costs to grow. E.g., spend $20 and time to not get a $1/lb vegetable.

What do you like to eat?

Who is your local garden nursery ?

Where do you shop?

I would still suggest you start your plantings much earlier. Regardless of your weather, the days in mid October are short, nights are cool and there is simply not enough heat to mature hot season crops. Both the San Francisco and San Mateo county extension services publish planting calendars that will help you figure out the optimum time to plant both seeds and transplants.

btw, I agree 100% with floral that growing your own veggies has nothing at all to do with being economical or cost effective and everything to do with the satisfaction of growing something from seed to table in your own backyard.

I recommend the OP plant and nurture vegetables that prosper in the Sunset District.

Instead of squash, I recommend radishes. Summer season veggies, too much disappointment due to weather.

fantan, have you considered a winter planting. Plant what grows in your microclimate, not what you “want”. This maybe the time for “cole” veggies.

I enjoy a vegetable garden, but when seed to table does not produce anything, and more importantly when the veggie in question is almost free in markets, and doesn’t prosper in the area..it doesn’t pencil out.

Now would be a time to try lettuce or other greens. They do okay in cooler weather and do not need large containers. Also, no pollination is needed.

I am, definitely, not doing this for money. The Covid shut down and everything else that is going on around us motivated me, as well as probably a lot of people, to start growing our own food. I find it very interesting and stress relieving. Due to "0" experience in this area, I am making a lot of mistakes😂. Thus, I made mistake buying squash, egg plant and bell pepper plants in September at Home Depot. When I was buying these, I had no idea when they should be planted. I just assumed that if they are for sale, it should be right time. Now I know better. However, I hoped I'll get at least some fruit out of it for experience sake. My idea was to grow vegetables that I use the most in my kitchen. These are tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, beets, onions, garlic, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, broccoli and herbs. All of these are supposed to grow well in SF based on my research. In addition to squash, eggplant and bell pepper, I planted carrots, beets, broccoli, onions, garlic, potatoes, radishes, dill, oregano, basil. Due to the lack of experience, I am periodically struggling with each of them. 2 weeks ago, my basil got chewed up by cutworm. Last week, I notices white butterfly laying eggs on my broccoli. I also, got aphids at some point. My husband built a raised bad now and we are going to cover it.. Hopefully, this will help to get rid of insects. By figuring out how to approach each problem, we are learning and hopefully will avoid these next time. I realize that planting is a lot of work and requires tons of knowledge and experience . Hopefully, in year or two, I'll be able to identify what grows better in my backyard. I do have gardening calendar for SF and will be planting seeds in December based on it. Also, I noticed that SF climate changed significantly in recent years. I had grapes growing in my backyard for 20 years and never produced anything, until last 2 years. I had a lot of nice grapes this year (see picture). I am very proud of it 😊. This also motivated me to try planting something else. Thank you all for your support.

Here is our raised bed. Do you think there is sufficient space between plants? Please let me know if you see anything that doesn't look right.

Does your front door face the ocean or the city?

The raised bed is facing ocean and west