Acorn squash: when are they ripe?

14 years ago

This is my first time growing acorn (and butternut too) squash. They look healthy and are fist-size. But it seems so early - I thought they took months longer to mature, like pumpkins - and I don't want to harvest them if they actually need another several weeks or a month. They're all dark green and fluted like acorn squashes I see in the market. Should I wait longer? I'd prefer to wait, since I'm dealing with a zucchini problem right now (problem: too many!) How long can I leave the acorn squashes on the vine?

Carol

Featured Answer

joeyb8

14 years ago

Hey Carol,
My best advice would be to leave them on the vine for a few more weeks. Acorn squash are interesting in that they do eventually turn orange like a pumpkin but they are mature even before that when they are dark green. Basically, as you might or might not know, squashes are divided into two categories. There are "summer squashes" and "winter squashes." Summer squashes include zucchini and are harvested BEFORE they are mature. This allows the flesh to be very soft, squishy, and palatable with little cooking. Also, the seeds are edible at this stage and thus do not need to be removed but may be eaten. Winter squashes however are harvested AFTER they have matured. The flesh is usually harder, must be cooked longer, and the seeds are very hard, mature, and must be removed prior to cooking. This is why we remove pumpkin seeds and in your case, butternut squash seeds and acorn squash seeds. Since acorn squash and butternut squash are both winter squashes, they can be harvested any time after they have matured, giving you a much larger window during which you may pick them. Essentially, it is never too late to harvest a winter squash. By that same token, it IS too late to harvest summer squashes when they have matured unless you want to remove the mature seeds. What this boils down to is that you should wait a few more weeks for your acorn squashes to grow. I've grown acorn squashes for a few years now and they usually are ready by the second week in August but never before the third week of July and my zone is 6. Hopefully that helped!

Good luck!
Joer

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Comments (6)

carol6ma_7ari
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, joer. Good clear advice and descriptions. So (sigh of relief) I don't have to figure out where to store or when to cook, those acorn & butternut squashes - yet. My pots & oven are full of large (but still tender) zucchini being stuffed and then cut into portions and frozen. At this rate I won't have to cook at all, this winter. And the tomatoes aren't ripe yet; when they are, it's gonna be big kettles of tom. sauce and stewed toms., and wholesale-size boxes of ziploc bags, for freezing.

This is my first year of growing other vegs. than tomatoes. I didn't realize those vines would snake out overnight, and invade the other beds, and head for the potager fences. Next year I might plant only 1 seed of each kind of squash.

It's a good thing we like squash.

Carol
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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
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It should be a dark green and will have a yellow or orange spot on the side against the ground about the size of a half dollar. The shell needs to be quite hard, so hard that you can't make a mark/dent in it with your thumbnail. The PM won't hurt the fruit so you can leave them longer on the vine if needed. One of the previous discussions of this question shows photos and is linked below. There are several others too that a search will pull up for you. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: When are acorn squash ready to harvest?
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Not growing them this year - since I think they take up too much real estate for the yield. I grew them last year - and only ended up with 2 squash on the 1 vine. You are supposed to harvest when (1) the skin has hardened and can't be pierced with your fingernail (2) the spot on the squash where it is sitting on the ground turns yellow.
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William, I feel your pain and understand your frustration. We had 6 or 7 great winter squash/pumpkin years here at our place before the SVBs found us. Since they found us and our garden, I tend to mostly plant C. moschata types of squash because the SVBs don't bother them much, if at all. Otherwise, if I plant C. pepo or other types, I am compelled to grow them under floating row cover to protect them. Unfortunately that adds one more chore to the 'to do' list in the garden, because you have to lift the cover and hand-pollinate the flowers since the row cover also excludes the pollinators. My dream garden would include a high tunnel/hoophouse type structure that was covered with window screen type material instead of greenhouse plastic so I could grow all the pumpkins and winter squash I want without having to watch the SVBs get them virtually every year. We are not likely to ever build such a structure, but I can dream about it! Dawn
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voodoodaul
14 years ago
Here's what you can do, if you realize you didn't give your butternuts enough time to ripen...
1) Put paper towel down on your window sill.

2) Place your squash "stem up" so they sit nicely and can get enough sun.

3) Take additional paper towel (about 1 piece for every stem you have), wet it, and wrap it around the cut-off stem. Try to do this as soon as possible after cutting your squash off the vine. Also make sure most of the paper towel is where the stem is cut off.

4) To make sure it stays damp, take a piece of foil (I used pieces about 3-4" squared) and gently place it on top of the paper towel that is covering the stem of the butternut...making sure to pinch it tightly around the part of the stem that is closest to the fruit (so the foil should resemble the shape of a light bulb). Make sure the foil completely covers the paper towel.

5) Repeat every day, for about a week (or less if your stems happen to get mushy, mine didn't), to ensure they're getting enough water to keep them ripening.

TAH DAAAAAAAAAAH! Brilliance at it's best.

Thank you.
(I made this up, and tried it, and it completely works!)
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vrjmsta
7 years ago
Why would my acorn squash go from yellow to orange. Never green?
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farmerdill
7 years ago
Acorn squash come in colors. most folks seem to prefer the dark green ones like Table Queen. White when ripe varieties like Cream of the Crop, multi colored varieties liked Carnival, and gold when ripe varieties like Table Gold are also available. I suspect that you have one of the golden acorns. While the standard for acorns and any other winter squash ripening is having skin too hard to cut with a finger nail, you can certainly leave them until the vines dies.
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vrjmsta
7 years ago
Thank you
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Acorn squash: when are they ripe?

joeyb8

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carol6ma_7ari
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Acorn squash: when are they ripe?

joeyb8

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carol6ma_7ariOriginal Author

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carol6ma_7ari
Original Author