Hi - this is my first year with kabocha squash so I am not an expert. My hill has huge vines (heirloom seed) and doing very very well so I am thrilled.

I can tell you that with OTHER winter squash -- and that is what I will be going by, you watch the stems and when they turn brown and look like the stems in the store, the squash is ready to harvest. Obviously they will also be dark green or whatever color the squash should be when "full grown" :D.

When winter squash turn orange (and some like acorn will do that in storage) they typically become inedible. I have a couple that are about ready to pick and there are others on those long vines still working on growing, so I suspect that picking now (at least one and testing) would be a good plan.

Thanks for the reminder. I probably need to go check mine again. It has been a summer without summer in the Northwest so we are about a month and a half behind. I can't imagine what those squash will be like on a regular year! Wow! My favorite for eating.

Good luck.

Hi

I planted different kabocha type this season, here it is baby delica just picked.

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And stuffed with sausage, delicious! I will grow it again.

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Silvia

you really need to list your variety if you want help.

I got the seed through an exchange, and there was no variety note. I feel better if there are orange kabochas. The stem is not succulent, but not dried like the ones in store. I guess I'll harvest it when the stem dies.

I treat kabochas like buttercups. When you cannot pierce the rind with your finger nail and the stem develops a corky look to it, you can harvest. They keep well on the vine, and I don't think you can really harvest too late--unless they start rotting. I also cure mine a few days in the sun to ensure a very long storage.

Brook

Wow Silvia! Nice photos!
I'm also growing baby delica, but the fruit are still small so looks like there is a long way to go yet. Did you have yours crawl on the ground or ona trellise? i'm curious how long the vines are at harvest time.

Hi guavalane

Thank you, this past season I grew Table Dainty, Table Queen acorn, Lakota and the kabocha type Futtsu, Sweet Dumpling, Shishigatani, and Baby Delica. All of them were grown on a trellis except the baby delica that I grew it in a raised bed. The vines are small and produced fast, it also had some warts in the skin of the squash and to give you the good news is was the one that the family liked best.

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Silvia

no one is telling me how long it takes for a kabocha squash to grow, I planted in May and no squash so far only yellow flowers. help.

I read that you should harvest winter squash when you can't pierce the skin with your fingernail. I hesitate to leave mine on the vine too long or cure in the sun because I live in Northeast Florida. But, this is my first year growing winter squash! Does anyone have any advice? I have Kabocha Squash and Butterkin. If I only harvest one squash from each vine I will be happy, but I have 1 Butterkin almost ready ( turning tan ), and 2 Kabocha!!

a little google research will certainly help. first it takes more than 100 days of growing. over 3 months. in new england that means the entire summer season. therefore harvested in the fall as late as one can usually. however Wikipedia has info.

When kabocha is just harvested, it is still growing. Therefore, unlike other vegetables and fruits, freshness is not as important. It should be fully matured first, in order to become flavorful. First, kabocha is ripened in a warm place (77 °F/25 °C) for 13 days, during which some of the starch converts to sugar content. Then it is transferred to a cool place (50 °F/10 °C) and stored for about a month in order to increase its carbohydrate content. In this way the just-harvested, dry, bland-tasting kabocha is transformed into smooth, sweet kabocha. Fully ripened, succulent kabocha will have reddish-yellow flesh and a hard skin with a dry, corky stem. It reaches the peak of ripeness about 1.5–3 months after it is harvested.

I live in new england zone 5 and would recommend that it grow as long as possible then finally harvested on the date before the first night freeze. at which time there should be some fully ripened colored squash and some obviously green squash. I would keep all of them indoors at room temp and the green ones should ripen over the winter. tasting better as time goes on but ready to eat when you want to serve them up. even a ripe when picked might not go bad until spring. but it is always best to eat the ripest ones first.

Thanks Gardendawgie for great information, I live in cool summer PNW are, our summer is too cool but Kabachi grow fast here.

I never grow anything before and newbie, I ate a Kabachi at April and it had many seeds and sprouts quite easy, It grews fast but all bady squashs was falling without pollination, utill mid of June and bees show up, one month has passed, trees have 20+ big squashs and they grow so fast, I would like to tell people that Kabachi grow well in cool summer PNW area.