A bit of farming advice please...

[foesgth]

Well, here is a real off-topic question. I figure one of you folks will know the answer. I suffer from Dunlap's disease. That means my belly dun lapped over my belt.

As a result this year I am growing Spaghetti Squash for the first time. No more pasta for this boy! How ta' heck do you tell when they are ready to pick? I grow butternut squash and on those I wait for the stem to start turning brown. Is it the same for spaghetti squash?

Help me get back to shooting prone!

[Scrounge]

Well, here is a real off-topic question. I figure one of you folks will know the answer. I suffer from Dunlap's disease. That means my belly dun lapped over my belt.

As a result this year I am growing Spaghetti Squash for the first time. No more pasta for this boy! How ta' heck do you tell when they are ready to pick? I grow butternut squash and on those I wait for the stem to start turning brown. Is it the same for spaghetti squash?

Help me get back to shooting prone!

Go to the grocery store and buy some. Compare the ones you're growing to the ones from the store.

Actually, don't ask me that question. The only plants that survive me touching them are the ones that I WANT to die. I've actually managed to kill an air plant. Black thumbs. My grandma could grow vegetables from kitchen scraps. The last tomatoes I grew cost me about $300/pound. I truly wish I'd gotten the Green Thumb from her. Alas, that was not my fate. ;)

[quilbilly]

My experience with spaghetti squash is the same as yours with butternut. We picked when the leaves started to die back.

[Geezer in NH]

You will be a better man than me. Spag Squash is nothing like spaghetti, I have grown it, family has grown it. They all were good for market but eat it as pasta NOPE did not work for us.

[ascast]

YES TO QUILBILLY sry pick one and eat, then you'll know

[alfadan]

If they're anything like summer squash, you'll have many,many chances to get it right before the season is out. On summers if they dont pull off with a gentle tug, wait a day or two

[farmerjim]

I grow spaghetti squash. I have it in the garden now. I have only picked one so far this year, but others are near. Here is how I tell. First test is you will see the color shift from light cream to a slightly darker color. the final test is then done with a fingernail. If a fingernail will easily break the skin, It is not ready. It should take a lot of pressure or not be able to break it at all.
I am growing mine from seeds saved from last year plus a new variety , Tivoli , That is a semi bush. I have not picked any of these yet.

I cut my squash in half, scoop out the seed put the inside down and cook the large half for about 10 minutes in the microwave.

For the small ones I just poke some holes in it to keep it from exploding and cook the entire one for about 15 min in the microwave. The seeds are delicious cooked.

feel free to PM me for any other questions.

[bakerjw]

We love SS. We use it with oriental stir fry dishes too.
To cook, we use a crock pot. Much more forgiving than in an oven.

[farmerjim]

We love SS. We use it with oriental stir fry dishes too.
To cook, we use a crock pot. Much more forgiving than in an oven.
How do you cook it in a crock pot? The oriental stir fry with it sounds great.

[rancher1913]

leave it be until the plants die off but pick it before a freeze. it will be a dark yellow when done and the vine will start to wither. store them at room temperature and they will last a year, we are still eating last years crop. prick a couple of holes and nuke in the micro wave for about 20 minutes, add your favourite spaghetti topping and you good to go.

[cwtebay]

Cool evenings make crispy leaves and good squash. Fall

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[quail4jake]

Farming advice....I won the lottery, now with the money I intend to farm until it's gone! So...do you really want my advice? Spaghetti squash is great stuff but hitting maturity right can be a challenge. Firstly, check with the breeder that grew your seed, they will likely have a days to maturity number for your variety...that helps. I look for leaf die back near the stem, deepening yellow color and hollow thud on percussion. If you put a little mulch under the near ripe ones you can avoid bottom rot and it will allow a few more days to ripen, over ripe is better than too early. Lastly, bust one open and microwave it to see if it's what you want. do not put a spaghetti squash in the microwave intact! or just stand clear of the door! good luck![smilie=s:

"The greatest threat to the American Farmer is having nothing to complain about!" -Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture, R.M. Nixon administration.

[gwpercle]

Not off-topic at all . A sub-forum is "Cooking Recipes" but should be labeled
"Cooking - Recipes - Growing - Gardening" as this section has morphed into the growing of all things .
FarmerJim is the man you want to get advice from . He's a Real Farmer ... like he makes a living farming acres of land and can answer any question about planting harvesting and even cooking .
MaryB. is putting all our recipes together in a "cookbook" . Post your recipes and/or ask for others recipes and we will be glad to help ... I wont because I don't know jack about spagatti squash .
I planted some yellow squash , they were lookin real good and every bush wilted and died ... I think vine borers got them ... I have to get something to kill those borers ... they kill just about everything I plant in that strip of earth ...there had been cane growing there and was cleared 4 years ago .
Gary

[Soundguy]

if you already do butternut.. just use those. at walmart and amazon you can buy a hand rotary tool that will turn squash and potatoes and similar vegis into pasta.. spirals.. lasagna shapes... etc.

I pasta up butternuts often...

[bakerjw]

We love SS. We use it with oriental stir fry dishes too.
To cook, we use a crock pot. Much more forgiving than in an oven.

We have a large crock pot. Poke holes in it and basically steam it in water for an hour. They come out much better that way IMHO.