Question
I am very new to gardening and am very surprised and excited to see the fruit that my plants are bearing.  However, I don't know how to tell when it's the correct time to harvest them.  My spaghetti squash (I have 5 all around the same size) is about 9 inches long and 6-7 inches in diameter.  My canteloupes are various sizes, the largest being about 8 inches around but it's still green.  Please advise when to cut them off the vines.  Thank you.

Answer
Jackie, 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 what the spaghetti squash should look like when ripe and they specify how to store them in the description.

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

The best way to tell when a cataloupe is ripe is when the stem slips easily from the vine or the tendril above the stems completely dries. Also, once the rind turns completely tan, and the fruit is firm but not rock hard, the cantaloupe is ripe. There are a couple of other tricks, but ultimately it comes down to experience.

One proven method is to "thump" the melon with your forefinger. If the resulting sound has a ringing or echoing sound, the melon is still too green to pick. If, however, the sound is dull, the melon is ripe. You should begin this test once the tendril (the pigtail attaching the melon to the vine) turns brown.  This is a sure sign that the melon has reached its maturity.

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

Regards,

Mike