Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Winter Squash Harvest
First year to plant winter squash. What is the optimum time, or
condition of the plants, to harvest? I'm in metro Denver, CO. If this has previously been addressed, I missed it. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Winter Squash Harvest
George said:
First year to plant winter squash. What is the optimum time, or condition of the plants, to harvest? I'm in metro Denver, CO. If this has previously been addressed, I missed it. The optimal thing is to let the fruit sit on the plant as long as possible. Your squash will be sweeter and more flavorful. Fully ripe squash store better. Often this will mean picking the squash just before a hard frost is predicted. (If light frosts threaten, wrap the squash in newspaper to protect them.) Certainly, once the vines have died back, the squash must be harvested. Acorn squash can be picked for immediate use when the rind is tough and the bottom spot is bright orange (in dark acorns) or when the mature color is reached (in golden acorns) or the white turns from greenish to creamy white (in white acorns). The stems will be hard. Acorns don't store particularly well (they get stringy and dry). Ripe winter squash will have very hard rinds (you won't be able to punch through the skin with a fingernail) and hard stems. The stems on hubbard and buttercup types will be corky. Other types of squash will have stems that are as hard as the hardest wood. (These stems can last several years even in very active compost piles!) They often develop a 'bloom' or sort silvery surface once they are ripe. Google certainly archives a lot of old posts where ripe winter squash have been discussed, either here or in rec.gardens. -- Pat in Plymouth MI Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Winter Squash Harvest
Also, remember to leave 2 to 10 inches of stem on each squash when you pick
it. It helps keeps the squash from spoiling. If it accidentally breaks off, they will still store for a month or so, put set them aside to be used first. I just today, picked up 6 winter squash and one pumpkin that I had entered in the county fair. I raised them all last summer and picked them just before freezing. Dwayne "George" wrote in message ... First year to plant winter squash. What is the optimum time, or condition of the plants, to harvest? I'm in metro Denver, CO. If this has previously been addressed, I missed it. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Are there virus resistant squash seeds? Virus killing my squash! | Gardening | |||
Winter squash question - When to pick | Gardening | |||
Winter squash | Edible Gardening | |||
Winter squash | Edible Gardening | |||
winter squash not maturing | Edible Gardening |