Butternut squash - should I harvest?

[Dragonhill]

Hello everyone. Newbie here making very first post, so please forgive any daft mistakes!

This is my first year with a garden and I planted Waltham butternut squash because I saw the seed packet in the supermarket and I like to eat them. I didn't really know what I was doing and undoubtedly did lots of things wrong, but ended up with four triffids which have 20 squash on them. All of the fruit are full-sized, but a couple are still looking very green. I know you are supposed to look at the stems to see when they are ripe, but I can't see a difference between the stems on the oldest fruit and those on the youngest.

The squash seem to have ripened quite a bit in the last week. We've had clear blue skies and sunshine every day (after three weeks of rain from the beginning of Sept), but the nights have been getting very cold and we had the first frost last night. I covered the plants so they survived, but I'm wondering whether to take the fruit off the vines now and put them in the sunniest place in the garden to ripen/mature/cure. Or is it better to leave them on the vine and cover them again tonight? The nights are supposed to get warmer again from tomorrow and they're predicting sunshine and showers later in the week.

[rustylady]

If you do decide to cut them, then cut them with as long a stalk as possible.

You'll find that the frost will kill the foliage anyway, so may be better to harvest them now.

Welcome to the Vine by the way.

[Dragonhill]

Thanks for the welcome and the prompt response [smile].

I appreciate there's no definitive answer to my question and of course the vines are on their last legs (tendrils?) what with the mildew and everything. I'm off on holiday at the end of next week, so will have to harvest them by then anyway. I'm just wondering whether another 10 days on the vine (assuming no further frosts after tonight) would be better for them than maximum sun exposure off the plant. The position of the house means my veg patch is in the shade from early afternoon at this time of the year.

[bearded bloke]

I would leave them on the plant as long as possible,cut off any leaves that shade the fruit (at any time of day) & cover as soon as they become shaded in the afternoon.

[PAULW]

If the vine attaching the squash to the plant is dry and shriveled they are ready to pick and remember to wash the squash in a mild bleach solution and they will keep longer

[Dragonhill]

Thanks for your reply, bearded bloke. I've taken your advice and given them a trim. Clambering around the bed made me realise rustylady had more of a point than I realised this morning about the frost, but the well-covered bits survived fine and I should be able to cover the plants a bit more easily post-haircut!

Unless someone else comes on and says something to make me change my mind then I think I will leave them on the plant until next week...

[Dragonhill]

Good tip about the bleach, Paul, thank you.

The vines aren't shriveled yet, unfortunately. I guess I need to start a bit earlier next year.

[kathyd]

Mine are ripening so slowly it hurts, even in the polytunnel, so you're doing well to get them ripening at all in my view! I'm hanging in there for the forecast sunshine next week too, fingers crossed.

[Dragonhill]

Hmm, it may well be wishful thinking making me see a slight decrease in stripyness...

I didn't cover them last night (no frost forecast) and lost a few more leaves, oops. Still, the BNS on sale in the supermarket don't look any more ripe than the ones on my plants, so hopefully all is not lost.

[kathyd]

Still, the BNS on sale in the supermarket don't look any more ripe than the ones on my plants.

Really? So presumably they're either safe to eat as is, or the shops are pretty sure they'll ripen up! Good news either way!

[Dragonhill]

I'm think they're safe to eat at any stage, but get sweeter and tastier as they ripen. I'm not sure Germans eat them, though, unless they feature in some Jamie Oliver recipe. Quite a few people have admired my plants, including several experienced gardeners, but not one has recognised them as butternut squash, or even heard of "Butternutkürbis" and all went on to ask me what on earth I planned to do with all the fruit :grin:

[horticultural_hobbit]

removed mine yesterday. Just going yellow, it is now sat on the window sill to go yellower still. The first one that I haver managed to grow!

[Pies]

Your squash will be fine,best get them under cover and let them ripen off there.It will be quicker,but there is no real rush as they will be away from the frost

[Dragonhill]

By "get them under cover", do you mean I should rig up some sort of makeshift polytunnel? I used fleece to cover them for the cold nights, but took it off again in the morning as I didn't think the sun was getting through to the plants.

Hobbit - congratulations on your first BNS! I've found it very exciting to grow them and am now making big plans for what I can grow next year.

[Pies]

Or get them on a windowsillnights are getting too cold to ripen them now