Well, I'm not sure about the unknown squash. There are a LOT of types out there. Baker Creek Heirlooms has a great pictorial list of a lot of varieties. You might check them out.

Butternut, as well as any other winter squash that I know of, are truly ripe when their skin has become so hard that one cannot dent it with a fingernail. That's really the final test. They may have turned color, which is very good, but even then, they are not fully ripe until they pass the fingernail test.

Also, for years I've heard of, and even tried myself, to finish maturing a prematurely picked squash. But it simply doesn't work. Either one can use them like a summer squash, green, or they should go to the compost pile.

Hope this helps!

George
Tahlequah, OK

George,
I was wondering the very same thing this morning when I was harvesting cucumbers and noticed some nice butternut squash growing nearby. I'll have to try the fingernail test tomorrow on the larger ones.

What do you mean about "finish maturing a prematurely picked squash"? Do butternut squash need to be "matured" if they have fingernail-proof skin, or are they ready to store if the skin is tough enough?

Where should I store my butternut squash? If all goes well and I'm able to harvest all my butternuts I'll have about 50 of them and I'm not sure where to store them to keep them the longest.
Thanks!
Tina

Tina,

I have stored squash in several different locations and maybe one of them would work for you.

The best location for us has been the underground tornado shelter. Winter squash, potatoes and onions store well in it for a long time.

The second best location for us has been a shelf in the corner of the well-insulated garage. I have had winter squash last 8 months to a year when stored there, but only mid- to late-fall-harvested winter squash. Anything that is harvested in summer or early fall goes into the tornado shelter because it is cooler there during the hot weather.

I've also stored it indoors in an unheated pantry that's located underneath the staircase to the second floor of the house, and have stored it in an upstairs closet. I always set several sheets of newspaper on the floor, shelf, table, etc. where I am going to store squash and then set the squash on the paper. That way, if a squash suddenly collapses, the mess is easily to clean up.

Squash stores best if properly cleaned and then cured for 2 or 3 weeks before being moved to its long-term storage location.

To clean your winter squash, rinse or wipe the rind clean with water, or soapy water if they have mud splatters caked on them. Give a final rinse or wipe with a solution that's 10% bleach/90% water. Let it dry. Set your winter squashes on a solid surface above the ground. They should be in an area where there is no sunlight and good air circulation. If you are curing them inside a garage or shed, it helps to open doors or windows to improve air flow, or to place a small fan there and keep it running. I use white folding plastic tables set up on our covered patio. If you don't have tables, you can use a sheet of plywood set on sawhorses or something similar. Let them air cure for 2 or 3 weeks, and then move them to their storage spot.

You'll have the highest quality squash if you are able to store them in a cool location where the temperature stays between 50-60 degrees. Humidity isn't a huge concern as long as it stays below 70 per cent. They do dry out very fast, though, if you live in an area that routinely has very, very low humidity. People who have cellars or basements often store their winter squash there, as long as the cellar or basement doesn't have dampness issues.

Depending on the type of squash you have, how well it cured, etc., it should store well for a minimum of 3 months and often significantly longer. You should know, though, that the longer your winter squash sit in storage, the more they deteriorate. A squash that has been in storage 3 or 6 months won't be the same quality as on that's been in storage a week or two.

I'm sure George will come back to this thread and tell you what he meant but I assume he meant that prematurely picked winter squash cannot be "forced" into further ripening or maturing.

If you don't have a lot of storage options for your squash, you also can preserve them by canning,...

Thanks Dawn. Yes, that's what I meant. Once they fingernail test ripe. They're ready.

If we have the freezer space we sometimes cook some up and freeze the flesh in 2 cup servings. This ensures the quality for quite some time. Though, we still have a Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin, apparently still good, which we harvested 11 months ago.

George

I have some immature butternut on my shelf that I need to cook up. Can I bake them just like a mature butternut, or should I fry/boil them like I'd do for a zucchini? What I've read on the internet says to treat them like a summer squash, and I've never been fond of the taste of baked summer squash, whereas baked winter squash is delicious.

Yo Girl (Gamebird)! I answered you on your original thread. Not the best of the "tried and true", just what worked for me last year! Hope it helps and if you've got any more questions, fire them at me! I'm a very busy person with work, kids and hubby along with adjusting to living rural so if there's a short-cut, I've found it!

And River22 - my experience is when the butternut turns a golden color - it's time! Pick it! It'll store (last) several months in your home temps until you can decide what to do with it. My grandaughter last year was so upset with her Granny (her other grandma) when she just set the butternut we gave her out for decoration! I had to laugh and appreciate that my grandaughter thought it should be worked and preserved! Good luck...but this is one of the easiest problems!

An immature butternut (still green) might work as a summer squash, fried or boiled. I just compost them, as I don't like their texture, even when quite young. Maybe it's just me. But that's what I do.

George

I don't think you'd call these squash "green", though they have a little green on them. I've never grown butternut (and I didn't this year - a guy borrowed some of my dad's garden area and planted them, then said he didn't want them... weird guy!) So now we have butternut squash and my parents aren't eating them either and I'm trying to decide how best to eat and store them given that the skins aren't tough to the fingernail test.