Hi all. I have two seperate questions.

First: this is my second summer growing yellow squash. I have both crookneck and regular. Last summer and the first part of this summer's harvest, my husband (who loves squash) said the squash was the best he ever tasted. ( I grow as organically as possible). But halfway thru this summers harvest, he said the squash has started to taste funny and not very good. I am cooking it the same as I usually do, sauted in a bit of olive oil, with seasoning. Is there any factors in the garden that would cause the squash to start tasting bad? The only bad thing I have going on out there is a bit of powdery mildew, which I haven't been worried about since my growing season is very close to being over. I have no SVB here that I've ever seen, the plants look healthy. I don't fertilize a lot, because the plants have always produced enough for our family without a lot of fertilizer.

Second question. I have several sugar pie pumpkins. Any time now we could get our first hard frost. I went out and did the finger nail test on them, and on all I could still pierce the skin. Can I cut them off the vines and will they finish maturing? I plan to cook, puree and freeze them for pies this thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thanks!