When to harvest and eat squash?

[tashtego_jwm]

Yep, I'm still new at this so pardon if this belongs in the dumb question category javascript:emoticon(':D')

My crookneck squash and zuchinni are growing and have plenty of shoots, but doing so at a very slow pace, in fact so slow that they appear to be either be eaten by slugs I keep killing first, or going bad because they are on the ground. ?? Both plants are quite huge in size, in fact larger than I thought they'd get. I have raised beds with a drip system that waters at 9 am and 5 pm. I fertilized 3 weeks ago with liquid seaweed/kelp.

Do you pick the veg when it's still young? Do they need to stay off the ground? Help me get a clue

Thanks

[hendi_alex]

Yep, pay close attention to the squash that are on the ground, perhaps slip some paper under them. Also watch for fungus/mold from the blossom. Plucking the spent blossom will sometimes save a squash. Picking young is smart and will keep the plants producing much longer.

[jal_ut]

Squash need an insect pollinator. Bees will do the job if there any around.
If the female flower doesn't get polinated, the little squash just shrivel up and turn brown.

Squash blooms in the morning and then the flowers fold up. Go watch your squash while the blossoms are open and see if there are any bees around. It is possible to hand pollinate. Pick a male blossom and visit the female blossoms with it to spread the pollen.

The male blossoms are on a long stem and often bloom above the canopy of leaves. The female blossoms are on short stems and are down under the canopy. You can see the ovary which develops into the squash.

I can't say for sure if this is the problem, but it happens quite often.

Crooknecks are best when from 4 to six inches. Zucchini from 6 to 10 inches. Pick them young and tender.

[atascosa_tx]

I like the stuffers myself...
white summer squash at top, zucchini in the middle along with straight neck yellow..and calabaza at the bottom.

[img]https://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g187/atascosa_tx/MAY032009Squash.jpg[/img]

But to each his own..

Happy gardening

[Timlin]

What do you refer to when you say "stuffers"? And how do you cook them when you refer to them in this manner. (Hits for using squash in different ways is always needed.)

[The Helpful Gardener]

Atascosa had a great thread on stuffing zucchini... while I'm digging for that did you read the recipe thread?

[url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1197&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=75[/url]

Not yet...here's another...

[url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13540[/url]

Atascosa, you want to pony up that stuffer recipe again?

Personally I like them in the European tradition, taken young and smaller (with zucchini this can also be a survival mechanism, as the next door neighbors always buswhack me with a bag or two of big ones over the season. Dick thinks it's great fun to leave bags of zucchini as I yell at him from the house to get those things out of here, I have plants of my own! This stands in for him the same way juvenile delinquents like to toilet paper houses; lots of fun except for the left over debris. Yet somehow we always manage to wade through it. Darling Becky shredded and froze tons of it and we have zucchini bread all winter; still have two bags to go...

HG

[Timlin]

thank you. The recipe thread is interesting I see a couple things I intend to try out.

[atascosa_tx]

Stuffed Zucchini...
Take a large zucchini and cut it long ways from stem end to blossom end.
take a spoon and scrape out the seeds....save them and dry them if it isn't a hybrid..
scrape out the meat of the squash until your about a 1/4 inch to the skin..
save the meat of the squash into a bowl...
Brown 2 lbs of hamburger meat and add what ingredients ya want..
I add lemon pepper, garlic, one large diced onion, salt and pepper to taste..
drain the fat....add 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 2 cups of cooked instant rice..and add the saved meat from the scraped squash from the bowl.
cook over low heat stirring occasionaly ...you can add baby corn out of the can if you wish...I do..it gives it some texture..

After all has simmered for 20 mins or so scoop the finished mixture into the zucchini halves and cover with cheese...and place into individual wrapped foil pieces and add a 1/4 cup of water and seal the top....place into the oven at 350 degrees and cook for 30 min or until the zucchini is tender.
Enjoy...
Note that this same recipe can be use to stuff bell peppers....or larger poblano peppers....mix it up..add shrimp or crab meat...
Yum.

[Timlin]

Sounds great! copy/pasted and will use a.s.a.p.

Hurry spring and get the zucchini coming on!!