Market Farming

["Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>]

Allan

    It's always a good idea to cure squash and pumpkins in the field prior
to handling them. Ideally you would cut them from the stem and let them sit
without moving them in the field for 2-3 days of sunny, warm, dry weather,
preferably in the 80's. The squash will respond to being cut from the vine
by forming a denser skin. This will alow you to handle them with less risk
of abrasion or puncture of the skin, which often leads to fruit rots. If you
do this, acorns will store well for 6-8 weeks. Butternuts will store longer,
for 2-3 months. And Buttercups will store for up to 6 months if handled this
way. One way you can distinguish squash types for their storage abilities is
their species. Acorn and delicatas are C. pepo, Butternuts are C. moschata
and Buttercups, Hubbards and Delicious squash are C. maxima. If you examine
the stems of each type, you'll see one of the primary distinguishing
characteristics. By the way, if you aren't growing delicata squash (Sugar
Loaf, Bush Delicata), you ought to try them. After many years of growing
squash and trialing squash cultivars, they've become my favorite at home.

Bill Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
Univ of Illinois - St Charles Hort Research Center


-----Original Message-----
From: Allan Balliett <igg AT igg.com>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 6:30 AM
Subject: [Market-farming] ACORN SQUASH


>I have a planting of ACORN SQUASH in which the vines are dying down
>rapidly from mildew.
>
>I assume that the smartest thing I can do is get the 'ripe' squash
>out of the field and into the cellar.
>
>Questions that come to mind but are out of my experience are:
>
>Do I have to cure this squash at all before setting it aside for CSA
>deliveries in the next 2-4 weeks?
>
>Is there any point in holding or distributing squash that is firm but
>has not ripened before the vines have died?
>
>Which brings up a similar question about butternut squashes: I have
>some beauties that are still greenish and the vines are dead. Are
>these  a loss or are they useable as food in the short term?  (ie no
>storage possibilities) I assume that the ones that have tanned but
>have not 'hardened' (thumbnail easily pierces skin) are appropriate
>for distributing for immediate use.
>
>Other than these problems with continual evening rains several weeks
>back, it's been our best squash season ever. ;-)
>
>Thanks for your help.
>
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