Topic: Should I harvest the rest of my squash?

[bluecar]

Hello all.

I came back today after a week's break to find some of my squash stems have gone rotten and when I've moved them the stems have just come away from the squash. The plants seem to have suddenly gone from dieing off to died. I still have a number off other plants (with squash on) that are dieing off, but the stems are still solid, so should I separate these from the plants now? I assume I should have done this earlier with those that have gone rotten? Hopfully those that are now stemless will still store for a while?

What is your advice?

Regards

Bluecar

[artichoke]

Have you had frost recently? We have in East Sussex, and I have brought in nearly all my winter squashes. But the stems/stalks attached to the fruit are all present and solid, so I can't comment on that. If the stalk falling off has left an open wound, I would expect them not to store for very long.....

[bluecar]

No frost as yet, but I'm concerned that the stems are rotting. There doesn't appear to be a wound on the squash.

Regards

Bluecar

[squeezyjohn]

Yes, yes, yes ... harvest them!

I got to my allotment with the intention of harvesting all my trombas and getting them home ... disaster ... overnight the rabbits got in through a new hole and have eaten in to the seed section of EVERY SINGLE ONE that hadn't yet been harvested!  Ruined ... the lot of them ... seed debris everywhere and they will not keep now!  I can still cook up the necks which they have not touched ... but I've never seen such pest devastation in one night ... there must have been a plague of them.

Harvest your squashes and pumpkins ... they're coming your way!

[bluecar]

Fortunately no rabbits our way, so harvest now or later?

Regards

Bluecar

[gwynleg]

I've just harvested all of mine - similarly some of the stems look like they are rotting - wonder it was the dry followed by huge wetness? I decided to bring them all in because of this and as frost may be on the way before I can get up there again. I would suggest harvesting

[lottie lou]

I would harvest them.  Went down last Sunday and had a look at them - they were fine, went down two days later to find that with the rain we had, my prize pumpkin had rotted.  Frantically harvested the remaining ones in the rain.  They are now curing on the bedroom windowsills.

[bluecar]

Okay, it would seem prudent to harvest.

Thanks for your help.

Regards

Bluecar

[artichoke]

Especially now it has rained so much and so relentlessly as to soak the fibrous stalks - they need to come indoors and dry out.

This has been my best year ever for Red Kuri and the steely blue Crown Prince and they look unbelievably beautiful ranked on a table. Not to mention the wonderful flavours of roasting them chopped up, with butter and garlic and sprinkling of sugar. They can only improve with age over the coming months. Last year everything rotted before Christmas.

[bluecar]

Thanks Artichoke.

I took the butternut and the bon-bon in yesterday. I'll bring the rest in tomorrow-  it threw it down here for most of the day.

I'm looking forward to roasted squash (touch wood) this Christmas

Regards

Bluecar

[vjm63]

I actually harvested my butternut squash from the polytunnel yesterday - although I was concerned they had not visibly turned the right pale colour. When I looked underneath, though, oddly they had there - the green striping was just still on the top. Only three squash, but they might last us a while - 2 are 7kg each, and one is virtually 10kg    ! Not quite sure why, but maybe it was because I put a good lot of cow manure into the beds when I rebuilt them last winter?

I have not cut into any of the yet - and if the stalk (which is rock hard) is anything to go by, that might need a chainsaw...