There’s a kind of disappointment that only comes from improper harvest timing with spaghetti squash. First, you sow the seeds, and tend to a tangle of vine in the garden. Then you hope for an early hard frost to help with a large crop. Next, you carry home the hefty fruit, wash them off, and bake them. And then you fork apart the flesh, only to find yourself staring down at not-pasta-but-rather-a-mushy-watery-disaster.
Frequently, it’s like this. Most often, it isn’t the way you cooked it, but rather how (or even when) you harvested it. Winter squash belong to the Cucurbita pepo family, which also includes spaghetti squash. Yes, that’s the family of summer and winter squashes, including zucchini. This sets a deceptive trap for beginning gardeners.
How to Know When Spaghetti Squash Is Ready
You’re taught to harvest their close cousins, summer squash and zucchini, tender and young. Winter squash has a different biological clock running through them. Weeks before they’re ready to be picked, the fruit reaches it’s maximum size. A winter squash that appears large enough to be plucked off the vine is actualy too soon; an immature fruit has been harvested. It hasn’t completed development of necessary dry matter required for best eating texture.
People misread the size sign. It is a ruse. For the actual clues, you have to go in the field. Examine the rind color. Examine the stem. Test its hardness.
Here is a breakdown of the color stages to help you interpret it all: the skin goes from glossy, immature green to a creamy transition, and finally to a dull, uniform gold. Immature = a shiny rind. Matte and hard is what you’re looking for. Scratch surface gently with your fingernail. Does it give? No. The fruit needs more time to ripen if it does. A good, ripe squash will be resistant, like a rock, not a firm apple.
The stem is most important and may be the best clue of all. It is by far the easiest to overlook. Once the fruit has reached maturity, the vine no longer supply nutrients to it. The part of the vine called the peduncle… The stem, starts to die back, turning brown and becoming woody (you can feel it). If the stem is still juicy and green, the plant continues to feed the fruit; you’ll have sealed its immaturity if you pick it then.
Cut the squash, not tear it away. And don’t remove the stem completely; leave about an inch or two as a stub. That’s cork, which will form a natural seal against rot when stored. Tearing the skin will create an opening for bacteria to enter and spoil your cellar.
When the squash comes off, though, what then? And here’s the thing: It must be allowed to cure. No skipping this step if you want to store it longer term. For about a week or two (again, depending on your conditions), let it sit in a warm and dry location. Why? This lets any small cuts heal and continues to harden skin of the rind.
Leave the squash in a warm, dry spot for about ten days to cure, then put it in a dark, cool location. Ideally, you’ll get the harvest to last deep into the winter months. If stored correctly, the squash will last several months, and continue to offer its subtle sweet-and-nutty goodness long past when the garden closes down.
Seed packets say what? The number of days it takes to get there. It is the day count. Usually it’s about 90 days from when you plant. But then there are all those variables: weather, sun exposure, type of soil…those can throw that timeline off quite a bit. A cool summer slows things down. Sandy soil (which heats up fast) speeds them along. Trust your own eyeball, not just the calendar. Trust your fingernail.
Growing good spaghetti squash means being patient. Don’t pick just because something looks good sitting there on the vine. Wait until the gloss fades off. Wait until the stem has hardened. Wait until the rind resists the scratch of a fingernail. When you’ve got it right, the fork slide through the flesh, and those perfect, separate strands come free. That’s what waiting gets you.