Question
When are Squash ready to pick.  Wolverton, Minnesota  

Answer
Shirley, I always pick my vegetables when they are fairly young. In the case of butternut and spaghetti squash, I recommend picking them as early as 8" long, but no later than 12". This will also result in more fruit since plants tend to keep producing when you harvest on a regular basis.

Most winter squash is ready to harvest 100 days from sowing or transplanting. Many gardeners leave it on the vine until the vine dies back and just before the first frost. But I believe you should judge harvesting by size and color.

A good indicator of when a squash is ripe enough to eat is to wait until the green stripes become very faint and the squash turns a yellowish-orange.

Squash, like tomatoes, will ripen off the vine. But I never recommend this with either plant. The reason is you sacrifice much of the flavor of the vegetables when they are not allowed to ripen on the vine. The only time I harvest early and ripen indoors is at the end of the growing season to prevent the plant from losing its harvest due to frost.

Attached is a website from which I often purchase my squash seed. You will see from the illustration and description what the squash should look like when ripe and how to store in the description.

http://gardeners.harrisseeds.com/cart/detail.asp?subcat=104&product_id=00826-00-...

Good luck, and please write again if I can ever be of assistance.

Regards,

Mike