How to Know When to Harvest Your Butternut Squash

Growing butternut squash is fun but sometimes it is hard to know when to harvest them. Too soon and they will shrivel and mold. Too late and the frost can kill them.
There are 3 factors to know so you can get your butternut squash harvested at the right time so it will hold up thru the fall. Lets go over the 3 factors to deciding when to harvest your butternut squash.
Food freedom is one of the best gifts you can give your family. Once you know how to grow vegetables, preserve them, make compost and grow seeds you can have food in perpetuity. This will make the grocery store optional for your family. If you would like more information on growing food, join our High Performance Garden Show. Go to https://thelivingfarm.org/high-performance-garden-show/
Sign up for the show, it is free and online and you can watch it any time.
Watch over 300 weekly episodes of the High Performance Garden Show where Lynn Gillespie will demonstrate how she consistently creates in one season over $2500 worth of organic food in only 128 sq ft, that is about the size of 3 king size beds, with only a 15 minute a day commitment! FREE, ONLINE, AVAILABLE ANYTIME!!
https://thelivingfarm.org/high-performance-garden-show/
Video: 3 Low Tech Frost Protection Systems for Tomato and Frost Tender Seedlings https://youtu.be/EIPhqynhmtM
Perfect Seedling Mix Your Plants Will Love!: https://youtu.be/E1cdoMbwHEc
Links: I am an Amazon affiliate and I will earn a commission for any products that you buy through my link. It will not cost you extra. Thank you for your support!
Rainbird sprinkler heads: https://amzn.to/3FuHA8k
30% Shade Cloth https://amzn.to/4mfadqv
Metal clothes pins: https://amzn.to/3YGNQ3q
Light Weight Frost Blanket: https://amzn.to/43rFfnH
EPIC grow bags: https://amzn.to/4i2CHR1
Gardzen grow bags: https://amzn.to/4llbXOL
Smart Pot fabric planters: https://amzn.to/4ll4EGH
Viagrow containers: https://amzn.to/4iWK3GZ
Garden Supply Tubtrug planters: https://amzn.to/4iZWUZd
Rubbermaid tubs: https://amzn.to/3XPYOTF
Click here to “Ask Gardener Lynn” your gardening question. https://thelivingfarm.org/ask-gardner-lynn/

No tools required to build this simple tomato trellis! To get the measurements and step by step written instructions go to www.thelivingfarm.org/easy-pvc-tomato-trellis-part-one/
If you would like to learn how to build an Easy PVC Tomato Trellis you can watch us build one at • How to Build a Trellis -Easy PVC Toma…

The Living Farm: Learn more about growing a garden and growing in greenhouses www.thelivingfarm.org
Email: thelivingfarm1938@gmail.com

The Grow Network: Learn more about growing your own food and medicine right in your back yard! https://thegrownetwork.com/

The Living Farm eCourses:
Abundance Garden eCourse: https://thelivingfarm.org/abundance-garden-course/

The High Performance Greenhouse eCourse:
https://thelivingfarm.org/high-performance-greenhouse-course/

High Performance Gardening eBook: https://thelivingfarm.org/high-performance-garden-ebook/

High Performance Classroom eSeries: https://thelivingfarm.org/high-performance-garden-classroom-series/

Leafy Greens Container Garden eCourse: https://thelivingfarm.org/leafy-greens-container-garden-course/

Strawberry eCourse: https://thelivingfarm.org/high-performance-strawberry-course/
Hardy Greens eCourse: https://thelivingfarm.org/hardy-greens-ecourse/

So, growing butternut squash is fun, but sometimes it’s really hard to know when to harvest them. You know, too soon and they’ll shrivel and mold, and too late, the frost can kill them. So, there’s three factors to know when you can get your butternut squash harvested at the right time so that it’s going to hold up through the fall and into the winter. So, let’s go over the three factors to deciding when to harvest your butternut squash. All right, number one is the first factor is variety. you know, what type of butternut squash did you plant? Is it a late season variety or a short season variety? Now, late season squash can take up to 120 days to mature, and a short season variety can take up to 90 days to mature. So, you want to kind of keep track of the days um that the squash has been growing in the garden and which type that you planted. All right, number two is the maturity factor. So, there’s an easy test to do to see if the skin on the butternut squash has become hard and mature. So, you want to take your thumb and you want to just push it in to the flesh. And then you want to see if it leaves a mark. Now, this one barely barely leaving a mark. And this one, it’s pretty hard. I can hear that it’s hard. So, if it passes the um thumbnail test, then it’s ripe and it doesn’t need to stay any longer. Now, this one down here, it looks about the same, but I can take that and I can push my thumbnail way in it. And you can see that it’s uh oozing right now. So, this one is not mature. And this one needs to stay hooked on the vine uh longer until I can test it with my thumbnail to see if it’s uh if the shell is hard or not. All right. So, this one here is mature. I can take this into the house and it’ll finish hardening uh the shell on it for me in a warm, dry place. This one here I need to leave on the vine. Now, uh the third factor to consider is frost. So, the big question is when the frost is going to kill the vine. So, sometimes we get a frost before the butternut squash is ready to harvest. And I’m going to start watching the 10day forecast in early September. And if it’s predicted to go below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and my butternut squash have not passed the fingernail test, I’ll go ahead and cover the vines with a frost blanket to get them through the night. Now, I use two 1.5 ouncez frost blankets over the vines and the squash. Be sure to remember to hold down the blankets with a few rocks cuz usually the wind will blow before it gets really cold. And I cover the frost blankets with a layer of plastic just to keep them dry. Now, by covering the vines, this gives my butternut squash vines more time to ripen the squash before I harvest them. And I’ll watch the butternut squash closely and get them harvested before a hard frost of below 25° F. Now, if it gets that cold, it’s going to damage the butternut squash, even if they are mature. So, you want to go ahead and get your butternut squash out if it’s going to be below 25°. Now, there’s a link in the description below if you are interested in getting some of the same frost blankets that I like to use. So once harvested, I will cure the butternut squash by storing them in a warm, dry place for a week and then they’re ready to roast and eat. And I will store them in a dry place for up to 4 months. And if I want to store them longer, I will go ahead and roast them off and then freeze the flesh in a freezer container. [Music]