Picking Winter Squash – How And When To Harvest Butternut Squash

No they can't get too big. Anytime frost threatens, time to harvest it all. When the vines are dead or almost dead, harvest (as in your last photo of delicata). When the thumbnail test says the rind is hard you can harvest.

Your butternuts look a bit green still, and the plants still have lots of life, so if there is minimal threat of bug or critter damage, more time on the vine would be great.

Acorn will have an orange blush on one section when it is ripe. I've read that lifting delicata up off the ground on, say, a plastic coffee can lid to prevent rotting while it ripens is a good idea. Your one scrawny delicata might just be insufficient pollination.

I actually disagree with some of what is in that linked article: fine to leave curing squash out doors, just not on the ground (a deck or porch is fine.) Best storage conditions for squash is around 55 and DRY(colder, 40 as they say, not necessary and can actually detract from storage and flavor. This same organization has another article that states this. They are not editing very well.). Also, I would not recommend a garage or basement -- too humid, and that causes rot. A cool bedroom is great. Also, cut or bruised butternut need not be eaten asap -- it normally heals just fine and butternut will not taste it's best until at least 2 months storage. So put the damaged squash in a separate box and watch it closely. If there are any signs of rot, then go ahead and eat it. But I have had deer bitten butternut last until the next June, no problem.

You can harvest once the winter squash has turned a majority of its final ripe color. You will have to leave them in a sunny/warm place for a bit though. The only clear pic is the butternut; ideally you want those green lines to disappear completely and the vine die off. I personally would wait a bit more for those green lines to fade more even for early harvesting.

I try to wait till it's fully ripe and the vine dies; however, sometimes I have to harvest early. Winter squash is incredible for storage. Wash or use a very weak bleach solution on the winter squash before storage.

Don't pick too early. Some winter squash don't like it.

Ha! reminds me of the shop windows in Italy in early fall, where in they often had trombocino squash hanging with faces painted on it.

Harvest butternuts when they are uniformly tan. Those in the picture above still have green stripes, and aren't ready for harvest.

P.S. When you harvest them, rinse them off in water with a little bleach added, in order to sterilize the skin. They'll last a lot longer that way.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. One other question: do you folks cut off the water supply to the squash once vines start to die back? Or is that not necessary?