Q. I
enjoy reading your gardening articles in the RJ. I liked the one about
the Butternut Squash as I had planted one in early April and did not record the
planting date. I have one squash almost 10 inches long that looks as if
it might be ready to harvest, while there are two other smaller ones. I
call the vine as a “Monster” as it has taken over my raised bed
planter. How long should I wait before harvesting the larger squash?
A. When
to harvest really depends on what you are going to do with it. If you plan to
eat it soon after you pick than just wait until the squash is a dark tan color,
cut it or separated from the vine, prepare it and eat it. If you plan on
keeping it in storage for a while before you eat it then I would wait until it
is a dark tan and check the hardness of the skin before you harvest it.
You can
do this with your thumbnail. If the skin is really hard and difficult to
puncture with your thumbnail than it is ready to harvest. Immature squash will
have a softer skin that is easier to penetrate with your thumbnail. Also, it
won’t be a dark tan color. If you plan on keeping it for a while, cut it from
the vine with a pruning shears leaving about two or 3 inches of vine still
attached to the squash.
enjoy reading your gardening articles in the RJ. I liked the one about
the Butternut Squash as I had planted one in early April and did not record the
planting date. I have one squash almost 10 inches long that looks as if
it might be ready to harvest, while there are two other smaller ones. I
call the vine as a “Monster” as it has taken over my raised bed
planter. How long should I wait before harvesting the larger squash?
 |
| Butternut squash ready to harvest |
A. When
to harvest really depends on what you are going to do with it. If you plan to
eat it soon after you pick than just wait until the squash is a dark tan color,
cut it or separated from the vine, prepare it and eat it. If you plan on
keeping it in storage for a while before you eat it then I would wait until it
is a dark tan and check the hardness of the skin before you harvest it.
 |
| Butternut squash at an expo in Zimbabwe. It looks like the seed was saved because of all the different shapes and sizes |
You can
do this with your thumbnail. If the skin is really hard and difficult to
puncture with your thumbnail than it is ready to harvest. Immature squash will
have a softer skin that is easier to penetrate with your thumbnail. Also, it
won’t be a dark tan color. If you plan on keeping it for a while, cut it from
the vine with a pruning shears leaving about two or 3 inches of vine still
attached to the squash.
Harvesting it so that the vine slips from the squash
leaves openings in the squash and it will not keep as long. It will store at
room temperature for a couple of months if the skin hasn’t been damaged and the
vine is still attached.