will spaghetti squash ripen once taken off the vine?

[Tinybu88les8]

The summer has been so hot its been killing my spaghetti squash plant. I have one squash I just cut off the vine...3/4 yellow... theres a larger squash that hasn't even started to change color... the plant has been withering fast. Does anyone have any recommendations? Should I cut it off or leave it as long as I can?

[gixxerific]

The summer has been so hot its been killing my spaghetti squash plant. I have one squash I just cut off the vine...3/4 yellow... theres a larger squash that hasn't even started to change color... the plant has been withering fast. Does anyone have any recommendations? Should I cut it off or leave it as long as I can?

I borrowed this passage from Handi-Alex found in the thread following.

"Squash, zuchinni, cucumbers, okra, egg plant, and many other fruits are always picked before they are ripe. Ripe means the seeds got ripe, and that means the fruit is virtually inedible. So for these three crops, pick as soon as the fruit is large enough to suit your fancy, and the earlier the better. The closer these fruit get to ripening, the more energy it takes from the plant, them plant slows down production, becomes spent, and dies. So just like dead heading flowers, if you want lots of squash and cucumbers, keep the vines picked, and keep them picked when the fruit is still small. In the early rapid growth phase of these plants, the fruit can get pretty large and still not get overly seedy, so eat those fruit, but intentionally letting them get large, IMO, is not a good strategy. Later in the season, even a modestly sized fruit will begin to get woody, tough seeds. Pick often, pick small, and be rewarded with a long lived plant that gives an abundance of fruit."

Thread https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9441

Dono

[trex66]

Your squash will ripen off the vine, but you will sacrifice flavor. If you pick it too early you won't have the spaghetti strands. The other poster quoted a passage about summer squash, not fall or hard squash(butternut, pumpkin). These mature to the end of the plants life. We didn't have a hot summer here, probably the coldest summer on record. All my hot weather crops suffered(tomato, pepper) but my spaghetti squash won't stop. I must have 20- 30 squash, and still going. We have a problem here with the borer which hardly showed up this year due to the odd weather. But, I was just thinking that maybe the S. squash likes a cooler climate. I'm not an expert, maybe someone else could chime in...

[Jewell]

Winter squash (spaghetti squash is winter) can be harvested whenever the fruits have turned a deep, solid color and the rind is hard. You need to cut the squash from the vines carefully, leaving two inches or more of stem attached if possible. If there are cuts or/and bruises or squash is not fully mature, or have had their stems knocked off, or have been subjected to heavy frost they will not keep and need to be used as soon as possible.

Baking those gems cut in half with their cut half down (on greased pan) is the best and easiest method (self-steaming and scoops out easily when fully cooked). Don't forget to scoop out those seeds and clean and roast them in the oven with a little salt. Yum.

Summer squash (crook necks, zucchini, patty pans) is better if harvested early and small. If you have seeds its a OOPs. I like them best thrown on the bar-b-que