Butternut squash

I've not grown them before .
The slugs got most of the plants and young squashes , till I gave them a good nematode bio control spraying.
 I suffered a lot of  bottom end rot as soon as the flower started to bulge and form a squash on the plant that survived , however in spite of all this and my attentions it has produced two decent sized squashes.

 Question s....

Do you let them alone and they will turn to the lovely beige colour on the vine or do you cut and store till the colour turns ..at present mine still have a light green tinge to them .
 

 I'm asking all this because we will soon start getting frosts ,I need the guidance as to cutting and storing  etc. in case they can't take a light frosting

I believe the time for cutting winter squash is when the stem starts to dry out.

This year mine were duds, but last year mine colored up on the vines.

Thanks guys.

This has been a huge year for me with winter squashes.  I have just returned from a month in Europe. (that I spent almost fully... worrying about my garden).
I got home a few weeks ago and harvested all of my squash then.

A few "rules of thumb" I  learned this year is that when you harvest them be sure and cut  them with a bit of the stem.
Harvest them when the little stem they are on start to turn a bit yellow.  When the squash surface is becoming a bit dull VS they are shiny up until then.
And that they will not tolerate a frost (that I found out last year)

The most important bit of information is that they are still great to eat if you harvest them early, they  just do not last as long in storage.
So ENJOY

Me thinks I will spend my winter searching for more recipes to do with all these squash.  

Holy moley, that is so cool! Not just volume, but variety!

Your storage rack is so professional. I'm in awe of your success.  

GWN wrote:

Me thinks I will spend my winter searching for more recipes to do with all these squash.   

now those are some beautiful squash! nice job! Did you do the Back to Eden method? Can't remember. Your rack looks like a fall display..congrats!!

Gorgeous! Looks like a harvest display at a local market :-)

What are some of the squash you have there and can you tell what they taste like? What you have made with them? I recognize a few, like the butternut and spaghetti squash and I think an acorn squash but don't know the others.

Great job,
Audrey

GWN,  your gorgeous bounty reminded me of the Exposition squash tower.  

Wow!! those squash are wonderful, I never thought you could plant those different varieties, and I sure didn't know you can eat them.

Why thank you ..... 
To answer questions.
The gardens were part Back to Eden,  I only started to do that in the spring and took awhile to get all the wood chips I needed so, they grew with some chips, but my experience with back to eden is that the real benefits seem to be towards the end of 6 months when the chips are beginning to break down.
Several of them were grown in my SFGs beds, they seemed to like them as long as they were on the corners,
I started many of the squash between the garlic.  My rational was that the squash were slow to get going, which allowed the garlic to finish up and it was not until after the garlic were harvested did the squash take over the whole garden.  After I harvested all the squash and pulled up all the vines I found a huge tomato plant that was a volunteer that had thrived under the squash and one plant produced enough tomatoes to fill a 3 gallon bucket.
The varieties.  Turks Turban, musquee de Provence, Galeux D'Eyesines , Potimaron, Delicata, Australian butter, Thelma Sanders, Golden Hubbard.   I have to credit Nonna from here for interesting me in all of these, she sent me some seeds for the Galeux D'Eyesines, Potimaron and Australian Butter, and Thelma Sanders last year.
I also have to admit that I have never really eaten squash. However it has also been my goal to develop a taste for them and recipes.

I have found that the very best thing to do with these winter squashes is to make soups and stews.  Australian Butter makes great pumpkin pies... smoother than pumpkin.  I found some incredible recipes from France for cooking the Galeaux D'Eyesines, and Potimaron.  I have not yet tried the Turks Turban.
One of my neighbours took a box of them for a thanks giving display at her church, so there are actually quite a few more than the picture shows. I figure that i will make squash soups weekly and they should last for a year.

OH and there are also a few Kobotchka squash, they are the bluey green ones....

Awesome plan. Squash soup is great stuff. I really like butternut squash soup, and it has become a favorite with family and friends. It seems to me that different squashes could be put in the same soup most of the time, too, with everything tending to come out all right.

The firmer squashes like butternuts are great in a mixed roots medley inc some 3/4 inch cubes of potatoes ,  drizzled in olive oil a couple of twists of the pepper mill and oven roasted 180 oC  in a shallow dish till a few of the edges show dark  but not black . Turn over every 10 min till ready .

What caused this? I had 5 little butternuts on the vines until I saw this today.  I harvested all and will have to roast and freeze this one.

Looks like my exploded zucchini. My assumption was suddenly too much water, like when tomatoes split, even though I haven't seen it happen to other vegetables before; I'm guessing my Earthbox cover didn't repel enough rain.

GWN wrote:Why thank you ..... 
To answer questions.
The gardens were part Back to Eden,  I only started to do that in the spring and took awhile to get all the wood chips I needed so, they grew with some chips, but my experience with back to eden is that the real benefits seem to be towards the end of 6 months when the chips are beginning to break down.
Several of them were grown in my SFGs beds, they seemed to like them as long as they were on the corners,
I started many of the squash between the garlic.  My rational was that the squash were slow to get going, which allowed the garlic to finish up and it was not until after the garlic were harvested did the squash take over the whole garden.  After I harvested all the squash and pulled up all the vines I found a huge tomato plant that was a volunteer that had thrived under the squash and one plant produced enough tomatoes to fill a 3 gallon bucket.
The varieties.  Turks Turban, musquee de Provence, Galeux D'Eyesines , Potimaron, Delicata, Australian butter, Thelma Sanders, Golden Hubbard.   I have to credit Nonna from here for interesting me in all of these, she sent me some seeds for the Galeux D'Eyesines, Potimaron and Australian Butter, and Thelma Sanders last year.
I also have to admit that I have never really eaten squash. However it has also been my goal to develop a taste for them and recipes.

I have found that the very best thing to do with these winter squashes is to make soups and stews.  Australian Butter makes great pumpkin pies... smoother than pumpkin.  I found some incredible recipes from France for cooking the Galeaux D'Eyesines, and Potimaron.  I have not yet tried the Turks Turban.
One of my neighbours took a box of them for a thanks giving display at her church, so there are actually quite a few more than the picture shows. I figure that i will make squash soups weekly and they should last for a year.

Very nice, GWN.

A lot of the varieties you listed are on my three year garden plan.  I sure wish I could plant them all at the same time, as you have. I'd like to grow a diverse and interesting variety of ornamental and culinary squashes for my own use and to sell at local farmer's markets.

Or my exploded Minnesota Midget....from our 3 inches of rain....

I haven't experienced the squash splitting, but the theory off too much water could be accurate.  It would be my guess.

I'm working on my next to last Boston Marrow.  LOTS of work processing a 35 lb squash!!!! 

Garden is getting pretty hot and tired, like it's gardener   I'm so ready for fall.

I've had cantaloupe split but not hard winter squash. No more exploding fruit for any of us.

GB, GWN hasn't been around for a while.  I miss her and hope she is well.

Can't grow squash to save my soul.  But I keep trying! The only winter squash I get is from my neighbors outdoor Fall decor.  She decorates with dozens that look just like GWN's bounty,  and then gives them to me for my compost pile come winter.  I put them in the basement, give some away, and eat from the rest all winter.  This year I'll be dehydrating and canning a bunch.  I don't eat the skins because they probably aren't organic, but I do eat the skins of some organic ones, especially butternut.

CC

Had no idea you could eat the skin of a butternut.  I am planning to grow ONE next year.  They are such a bear to cut/deal with....ER visit.....cut tip of finger off....

You can cook winter squash in their skin by roasting in the oven in a shallow pan face down in some water.

When cooled, just scoop out of the shell.  Much easier on the finger tips