I'm still eating spaghetti squash picked last September. Most of them are about 2.5-3.0 lbs. Three hill got me about 12-14 squashes. I just cooked one, and got 1.5 lbs of squash out of it. I'm not generally a fan of winter squash, but I do eat the spaghetti variety. I have to say that I think the idea that spaghetti squash can replace pasta doesn't make much sense to me. I tried it with tomato sauce, and it just didn't work. I just eat it as a side dish - no sauces, but maybe herbs/seasonings. In spite of the fact that it kind of looks like spaghetti, it's still a winter squash, and tastes like it.

This is not true. Not all tomatoes are red. Some are orange, peach, yellow, green, purple, brown, etc. A blind person could pick a tomato... you want it to "give" a little if you gently squeeze it - much like a ripe pear or peach. For the squash, all winter squash is harvested when the main stem connected to the fruit starts to brown. "Harvest winter squash with two inches of stem remaining. A stem cut too short is like an open wound, which will cause early decay. Most winter squash benefits from a curing stage; the exceptions are acorn, sweet dumpling and delicata. Curing is simply holding the squash at room temperature (about 70 degrees) for 10 to 20 days. After curing, transfer to a cool (45 to 50 degrees), dry place such as the basement or garage for long term storage. Careful, do not allow them to freeze. The large hard rind winter squash can be stored up to six months under these conditions. Warmer temperatures simply mean shorter storage time. " Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Squash

Anyone in the Santa Cruz area? I planted a lot of squash seeds and now I have too many plants. The squash plants are: Yellow Summer Squash, Delicata Winter, Sweet Dumpling Winter, and Kabocha Winter. I live way up in the mountains so can meet somewhere in town. Clare

My answers: - the size, color, and condition of stem are good indicators. I have not grown SS myself, but I have seen them a lot, have cooked them few times. The color should be yellow.The stem get brown. -- green spots may mean not quite matured. -- put them on dry straw, hay in cool ventilated place. -- I do not think you can freez raw squash. -- I think your friend is right. note: SS is very sililar to shark fin melon. Shark fin melon can be harvested and cooked (in soup) from young to mature stages.Mature ones will get hard seeds, hard rind, and more pronounced strands. Younger ones will have soft (edible) seeds that need not to be removed before cooking. Also I wash them well, cut them into pieces(chunky) cook them(in soups) with skin on.