Acorn & Butternut Squash Harvesting Question

[avariell]

I am trying to decide if I should pick our butternut and acorn squashes. This is the first time we have grown any winter squash. I did some searches - I found some conflicting info on google, so I am looking for T&T advice. It is still warm here (not sure if that impacts your advice). The butternuts are a beautiful cream color and I am guessing 8-12" long. The acorns are bigger than what I typically see in the grocery store - maybe the size of a hefty cantaloupe? They are dark green with no orange stripes. The plants are still flowering, so I assume there will be more squash to come.
I have read that it is important to make a clean cut when you harvest the squash, which I plan to do. So here is the question - do I start harvesting now? Or do I wait for cooler weather? I know I can store them in my basement, but do they need to be "cured" first? I also found a thread on freezing them, and I know I can do that if they start to look bad. (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=66488&highlight=winter+squash)


Any winter-squash-harvesting advice is much appreciated :)

TIA!!

[ljt2r]

You do not need to cure them--mine lasted all winter in some cupboards in my (unheated but attached) garage--some lasted well into late spring. Just make sure it is dark, cool and well ventilated.

I always let mine grow as long as possible--I doubt they are "ripe" enough yet where you live, but maybe you guys are more early than central PA than I realize. I think I picked mine in late Sept to mid Oct. They should be dark golden cream (the butternuts--I never grew acorns) with as little green as possible. You do end up with large squashes this way, but they also have the nicest flesh. A true cream does not sound dark enough to me--do they look the same color as the ones in the store yet? The risk of course is always the animals and blight getting the plants--and you do want to pick them before that first frost, although I think I ran out and got some immediately the morning after once to no ill effect. My feeling is to leave them alone unless you feel they are at risk--but maybe the PA growing season was so short it was pointless for me to worry about anything other than a single, late harvest?

Laura

PS Dad has you harvesting his winter squash I take it? ;)

[Kjente2]

You don't have to think about when to pick them. They will tell you when they're ready because the stem will dry up so they won't be getting any nutrients through the vine any longer. When you see the stem dry, cut it and store it.

[Chefzhat]

You don't have to think about when to pick them. They will tell you when they're ready because the stem will dry up so they won't be getting any nutrients through the vine any longer. When you see the stem dry, cut it and store it.

Yup, that. :D

Lucky you. I really, REALLY miss my garden. At this house it would just become deer feed.

[avariell]

thanks for the replies -

Laura- actually these are MY plants :) they are in his garden, but i was the one who insisted we plant them. so these will be my squash NOT HIS :D (although i suppose i owe him one or two for watering the dang things during the horrible draught). the butternuts definitely look the same as what you see in the grocery. no green at all and a dark goldeny-cream. and they just showed up at the farmer's market this weekend...

chefzhat- my parents have dogs who like to chase deer. it helps :) (plus in our area, there are a lot of neighbors without the dogs to chase deer, so i think the deer just stay in those other yards)

kjente- does this impact the plant producing more fruit? like with a bean plant we keep picking the beans so the plants will keep producing more beans...

[ljt2r]

You don't have to think about when to pick them. They will tell you when they're ready because the stem will dry up so they won't be getting any nutrients through the vine any longer. When you see the stem dry, cut it and store it.

If you are too far north (as I was) this is not always true. Frequently you just have to grow them as long as you can before it ends--I know because we had a frost before they were dried out and ready. But they still tasted fine--must have been very close to being ready.

Amusingly, I think I thought the ones that did dry (and so I picked them) were suffering from some disease or something. Now I am not sure. :o

[donleyk]

I am trying to decide if I should pick our butternut and acorn squashes. This is the first time we have grown any winter squash. I did some searches - I found some conflicting info on google, so I am looking for T&T advice. It is still warm here (not sure if that impacts your advice). The butternuts are a beautiful cream color and I am guessing 8-12" long. The acorns are bigger than what I typically see in the grocery store - maybe the size of a hefty cantaloupe? They are dark green with no orange stripes. The plants are still flowering, so I assume there will be more squash to come.
I have read that it is important to make a clean cut when you harvest the squash, which I plan to do. So here is the question - do I start harvesting now? Or do I wait for cooler weather? I know I can store them in my basement, but do they need to be "cured" first? I also found a thread on freezing them, and I know I can do that if they start to look bad. (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=66488&highlight=winter+squash)


Any winter-squash-harvesting advice is much appreciated :)

TIA!!

If it helps, my butternuts are still out in the garden. I have some green stripes yet so I've let them go. If the vines suffer too much more wilt I will likely pick them though.

[MKSquared]

I picked about half of my spaghetti squashes because bugs have decimated all of my squash vines. :( I have no idea what they taste like, because I'm too upset about the bugs to try them.

[donleyk]

I picked about half of my spaghetti squashes because bugs have decimated all of my squash vines. :( I have no idea what they taste like, because I'm too upset about the bugs to try them.

I went to pick up a couple of yellow squash and had the same thing. Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!! Dang things. They already got my zucchini plants. I hope they stay over there and leave the eggplant and butternuts alone. Buggars. :mad: