When to pick winter squash?

[booger]

This is my first year growing winter squash. I have some buttercup, butternut, and spaghetti squash all growing but don't have a clue when it's ripe.

I've been googling and seem to have come up witha general "pick it when the color changes"

So, that's it? Any other signs of ripeness? What sizes do they generally get? I'm a complete winter squash dummy, never having even bought one in the store.

If you have any good, tried and true recipes, I'd love to see those, too!

 

[Gingergirl]

When the color changes

Go to the grocery store and look at what they have. The most appealing of each variety is usually the most colorful. So that's what you want at home, only yours will be better because you grew it yourself and didn't pick it so early it had to color up on the shelf.

Mostly, I can tell that even the plant has lost interest in the squash, so it must be done.

 

[booger]

Thanks! I actually did look for squash at the store tonight while I was getting groceries. All they had was zukes and some yellow squash. Anything else is considered high-falutin' exotic around here.

Thanks again. I'll just keep an eye on the color and pay attention when mama squash is ready to kick her offspring out of the house.

 

[Sarrah]

I leave mine on the vine until the stem is dry. When the plant has gone on to that big garden in the sky.
I hear tell that if you let the first frost kiss your squash gently before harvesting they have a better flavour. But if you pick your squash just before the first frost they last longer. I think you need to try some of each and decide.
Of course if this is your very first time eating winter squash you and the family may or may not like it. Such an adventure.
I have a good crop of butternut, acorn, and spagetti squash out there in my tiny garden I am pleased.

 

[breezyhill]

regarding winter squashes...

i want to try storage some of my winter squash in an outdoor root celler that we've restored on our property. i started my squash indoors this spring and set them out mid may and i think now the vines are starting to die back on the orange pumpkins. i have two kinds of pie making pumpkins and butternut squash and hubbard squash. the b-nut and hub squash are not ready.

well, here is the question, and it applies to potatoes and onions, too. if vegetables are ready a month before the first frosts are expected, should you plant about a month later so that your winter vegetables go in the root celler right after they are 'cured' a bit? i think when the weather is still warm that the food would spoil in the root celler.

sorry if this is rambling. i don't think i'm expressing this very well. thanks for any advice you all have on this.

breezyhill

 

[Gingergirl]

Booger,
You asked for recipes, and of course there is the usual pie. However, I like to put large chunks (like potatoes) in stew, pumpkin being my prefence. We also like yeast bread with mashed pumpkin (could use the butternut) in the dough. Moist and a fun orangy color.

Breezy,
we've had a few warm Falls when the squash seemed to ripen "too soon." We don't have a root cellar, so I have to rely on the garage. Kept the squash in the house (cooler) till the weather cooled and the squash did fine. Put a thermometer in you cellar. It may be plenty cool in there.

As to planting time...Other than radishes and lettuce, I've had very little luck with timing planting for when I want to harvest. Weather and climate seem to have a MUCH stronger impact on maturity of crop. In SW Va. I was able to time my harvests with planting time. Not so up here. I've planted peas two weeks apart and had them still mature at the same time. Same with beans. With tomatos, 4 week old plants vs 8 week have only made a difference of less than a week.

 

[summerthyme]

Wait until the rind is HARD- if you can pierce it with a fingernail, they're not ready yet.

Really, there is no hurry unless you've got mice getting into the garden patch. As far as "color changes"- some squash doesn't change color, at least in my experience! Butternut squash stays sort of tannish once it gets to it's full size, but it will still "ripen" a bit after that.

Around here, we don't pick it until frost threatens (or unless some disease kills the vines) and then we have a giant picking afternoon and clean out the garden of every possibly ripe or "close enough" veggie.

If you want to store them, wait until they are hard shelled, then pick by CUTTING THE STEM- don't pull them off the vine. If you break the stem off some, set those aside to be used up first- they won't keep long (a week or two, not months like if you don't break the skin).

Handle them gently- they're not peaches, but they're not footballs, either! SET them in the baskets, don't throw them! Wipe them off with a weak bleach solution, and then set them someplace warm (if possible- around here, by the time frost threatens, "warm" is usually only a dream) and let them "condition" for a few days. This helps harden the skins further and helps them keep for the winter.

Store them someplace DRY and cool- dry being even more important than cool. But not where they will freeze- instant rotten squash once they thaw. I've stored them for months in a cool bedroom (heat turned off), and currently store them in our basement, which runs between 50 and 60 °. But NOT in the root cellar, which is a bit too damp, and which encourages mold.

If at all possible (it's really important) don't store them piled in baskets or boxes- store them in single layers, preferably on a ventilated shelf. A regular wooden shelf is fine, though.

If you do all of the above, you may well be able to serve winter squash for Easter dinner! They may be a bit dry by then, but some may still be edible.

If you get some that are getting "bad spots" on them- starting to spoil, don't let them go to waste. Cut out the bad spot and cook the rest (easiest way is to remove the seeds and strings and nuke the thing until it's soft. Then scrape the edible flesh away from the skin. It sure beats trying to peel them raw!). Freeze it for later meals.

Summerthyme

 

[booger]

Oh, thank you all for the wonderful squash info!

We've really been broadening our horizons this past year, trying new things. I'm beginning to google in my dreams now, searching for new info.

 

[breezyhill]

summerthyme,

thank you very much for your squash info. i didn't realize that the root celler outside would be too damp for the squash. i have a bedroom that isn't used, maybe i'll put them in there.

but if the root celler is too damp for pumpkins, wouldn't the same hold true for apples and potatoes? just what did people put in these things 100 years ago?

breezyhill

 

[summerthyme]

Breezyhill- no, apples and potatoes NEED more moisture. Squashes and pumpkins will mold under conditions that apples and 'taters prefer. Root cellars are also (generally) too moist for garlic and onions as well.

People stored apples, pears (short term- a few weeks), cabbage, potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, in their root cellars. Depending on the cellar, and how much ventliation was available, some folks also stored their canned goods down there. Also, eggs, butter (in crocks of brine) and cheeses (well protected from mice)

We've found root cellaring to be a constant challenge and compromise- but well worth it. We store apples, potatoes and cabbage in open crates- the cabbage is wrapped in newspapers, though.

Carrots store very well in layers of damp (NOT wet) maple leaves, in 5 gallon buckets. That's proven to be the best method for us after years of experimenting- and too many pounds of carrots tossed or fed to the horses after they sprouted, rotted or shriveled.

Pumpkins and winter squash are stored on shelves in the basement proper. It stays around 55-60° year round- a bit colder in the bitter cold part of the winter. It can be damper than I'd like, but not during the winter generally, unless we get a bad thaw and flood.

Onions and garlic are stored in braids and in mesh bags at the foot of the stairs in the basement, where there is quite a bit of air circulation. The last of the storage onions (Copra variety- try them if you possibly can!) were used in JULY this year- still hard and fresh!

I've read in many, many books that you "can't" store apples and potatoes together. Supposedly the gasses released from the ripening apples cause the potatoes to sprout. I had to bring my Yukon Gold potatoes up into the warmth and light in mid May this year to encourage them to sprout so I could plant them... so I don't worry too much about that, either. I don't have optimum apple storage, but generally can keep them until early March before they start getting shriveled and soft. I usually have a marathon apple pie filling making session in February to use up most of the apples while they are still easy to peel.

By all means, experiment and find out what works best for you.

summerthyme

 

[LC]

Summertyme said it very well. I only wish I had a root cellar that would store my Yukon Golds that well.

I can recommend the book "Root Cellaring" by the Bubels. It was published by Rodale Press and is a comprehensive book on storage of vegetable and fruit.

LC