pebbles
Chillin' In The Garden
Is there anything special I need to look for that tells me my spaghetti squash is ready to harvest?
When to harvest spaghetti squash
- Thread starter pebbles
- Start date
NwMtGardener
Garden Addicted
Ohhh, i was wondering this as well, growing them for the first time this year. Mine are only the size of cherries tho, so i dont think they're quite ready!!
RidgebackRanch
Attractive To Bees
We have always wait until the first frost. You can pick a few a week or two before the first frost if you can't wait and they are just as good. 
journey11
Garden Master
When you can press the edge of your fingernail against them and it no longer punctures the rind, they're ready.
hoodat
Garden Addicted
As Journey said you can harvest them for immediate use as soon as a hard rind starts to develop but if you want to store them I leave them on the vine till it dies back so they have a tough skin that will keep them from drying out.
digitS'
Garden Master
I suppose there is no danger of this now, but . . .
Allowing your winter squash or pumpkins to freeze is risky. If you want to wait until first frost and for the vines to die that way, I suppose it would make good sense to cover the fruit itself - with straw or lawn clippings or, something.
Allowing the rind of the squash to freeze will hasten its decay in storage. It may appear to recover from this but decay will often start there. I finally realized that this was especially true with the pumpkins I grow every year. Nothing like having them begin to decay before Halloween.
The extension sites all say harvest before frost or before heavy frost. But, the old adage about "frost on the pumpkin" suggested to me that frost should be okay :/. I already have too few good squash growing days and less than ideal storage conditions. Bringing them in after they have that darkening from frost just meant that keeping them beyond about 10 weeks was beyond any hope.
Steve
Allowing your winter squash or pumpkins to freeze is risky. If you want to wait until first frost and for the vines to die that way, I suppose it would make good sense to cover the fruit itself - with straw or lawn clippings or, something.
Allowing the rind of the squash to freeze will hasten its decay in storage. It may appear to recover from this but decay will often start there. I finally realized that this was especially true with the pumpkins I grow every year. Nothing like having them begin to decay before Halloween
.The extension sites all say harvest before frost or before heavy frost. But, the old adage about "frost on the pumpkin" suggested to me that frost should be okay :/. I already have too few good squash growing days and less than ideal storage conditions. Bringing them in after they have that darkening from frost just meant that keeping them beyond about 10 weeks was beyond any hope.
Steve
- Thread starter
- #7
pebbles
Chillin' In The Garden
I'm in NW Arizona. We will not get frost until December or January. I have some spaghetti squash that "looks" ready to pick. Should I pick or leave on the vine?
digitS'
Garden Master
Well, it is never too early to be prepared!!pebbles said:
I think you should follow Journey's suggestion for immediate use. But, I've never grown spaghetti squash . . .
I'm fairly sure, you'll never get those squash to January out there on the vine!
Steve
- Thread starter
- #9
pebbles
Chillin' In The Garden
Thanks everyone for your advise. I never had spaghetti squash til this past winter. Loved it and thought I might try growing it. It seems to have matured faster then I anticipated. You guys are great!!
