Market Farming

[pam AT twinoaks.org]

Alison,
        I think it was you, asking a few days ago about maturity 
signs in winter squash. I found a few notes I took from an article in 
the September 2000 issue of Growing For Market! Acorn-type 
squash (Carnival, Festival etc) are ready when the ground spot is 
earthy - "the colour of pie filling when the cinnamon has been stirred 
in" (!) The stems are still green. I never bake pies, but maybe you 
do. Buttercup and Kabocha type squash are ready when the stems 
are 75% corky - they're the varieties with the fat roundish stems. 
Butternut and Cheese are ready when they are an even peanut 
butter colour, with no mottling, and preferably none of those vivid 
green lines radiating from the stem down the squash. 
        Our winter squash this year all looked like they were dying 
early. I thought it might be downy mildew. But then we had a dry 
week and fresh green leaves appeared. Now we have tropical storm 
gaston and another inch or so of rain, so who knows the fate of the 
squash plants now?
        Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community, Louis, VA. Zone 6b