Best time to harvest yellow "crookneck" squash

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wildredmater Dallas, TX May 07, 2011

My yellow "crookneck squash looks yellow even when the flower is still attached and obviously not ripe and edible yet. They're yellow alreay when not ripe, so how do I tell when it's time to harvest them? I can't tell by size either because I'm not using fertilizer and there's not much rain, so they're small bu maybe they're expected to be small due to the lack of water and fertilizer. Please tell me when to harvest my squash. Thanks :-)

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) May 07, 2011

Any time they are large enough for you to eat. They are used as immature fruit. The last thing you want is "ripe" one. They are best before they reach 5 inches in lenght for most varieties. Once the skin begins to harden, they are past prime.

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catmad Pelzer, SC(Zone 7b) May 08, 2011

As usual, Farmerdill is spot on :). Very fancy restaurants serve the flower with the very immature fruit attached, and the tiny ones are sold as "baby" veggies. I wait a little longer because I want more for my money (*G*), but tr to stick to under 6 inches. The yellow squash are easier, at least you can SEE them. I constantly "lose" the green zucchinis, they crawl down inside my haybales, and grow to the size of baseball bats.
Still, I use them to make bread, and if they're not too far gone, you can stuff them....

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