Winter Squash

[eurolarva]

This is the first year I have had a garden and one plant I have is called a sweet mamma squash. We plucked one last week and ate it and it had zero flavor and was kind of yellowish. The ones I have now are at least a foot in diameter and keep getting larger by the day. The little tag that came with the plant mentioned a diameter around 8 inches. I have tried to find something on the internet on when to pick these and because they are winter squash they mention to pick just before frost. At the current rate of growth I will need a bobcat to haul these into the house by then. Is it possible these will be ready to pick soon and so how do I tell?

[sparcebag]

Euro try looking up crook neck squash,Never heard of your type,but yellow leads me to think these may be the ones.If they are I'll reply as to how to cook--use,

[eurolarva]

I looked it up and it is totally different. Here is a pic. Looks more like acorn or buttercup. What I meant by yellow was the color of the meat inside.

[sparcebag]

I think by refering it as Winter Squash it means full growing season,pick and will store till winter(under right conditions)But notice the stem is brown ready to pick,most squash & melons get picked when stems turn brown (drying up) I guess you'll have an excellent crop!! you must have prepared the soil just right. Cut in half ,scoop out seeds and in hole put in butter & a little brown sugar,bake 45 min-1hr.UMMM

[eurolarva]

Thank you for the suggestion. I have heard that the spot it lays on will turn bright orange and that the skin will get so hard you cant scrape it with your fingernail. I can fillet a fish with my finger nails so I doubt that test will work for me. Dang rabbits got in and are starting to chomp on the water melons. Need to get some fox urine or something.

[sparcebag]

I've the bunnies reduced this year my neighbor and I got tired of em eatin EVERYTHING! lots of em this year,the new air rifles that shoot 1000 ft.per.sec. But we live outside a city,town.

[eurolarva]

Things have taken a turn for the worst. Two weeks ago it looked great now it is dying and I dont see why. Here is a picture. I made sure to water when we had the nasty hot weather. Any ideas what is going on?

[sparcebag]

Sorry cant help there

[joe_stack20]

in the picture i see the grass outside of the fence is brownish. what are you watering with? if its a hose at the base of the plant you could be over watering? just a guess.

[eurolarva]

Using a sprinkler for the garden. I went to a garden forum and found the answers. It is what is called a Squash vine borer. More info on it HERE I removed the plant and the base vine is all chewed up. I took a knife and slit about 6 inchs above the damaged vine and there is a big grub in there. That is the SVB that killed the plant. If you see a bee in your garden that is red beware. That is the squash killer.

[BLACKJACK]

I think you picked it too soon, winter squash will get sweeter as the season gets later. Don't give up and trash them yet. When the vines die down and the spot underneath gets orange, you should be good to go. Also as someone else mentioned, a little brown sugar added when cooking or at the table might be helpful!!

[eurolarva]

This squash vine borer pretty much decided for me when to pick. I learned later after picking the squash that if I would have removed the borer(looks like a big wax worm) and then buried the vine under the dirt it might have come back. I have 4 nice size fruits sitting in a dark closet in the basement that have done well now for almost three weeks. The one we ate 2 weeks ago wasnt too bad