When To Pick Spaghetti Squash (and How To Cure It For Storage)

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Spaghetti squash is a fun and unique vegetable to grow. It’s a type of winter squash that develops a pasta-like flesh when cooked and shredded. The flavor is slightly sweet and blends well in recipes with various sauces, cheeses, and herbs.

Homegrown squash taste so much better than anything from the grocery store – if you pick and cure them correctly. In order to get fantastic tasting spaghetti squash, you need to harvest it at the right time. You can also store it for several months if it’s harvested and stored in the right way.

With all that in mind, here’s what you need to know about when to pick spaghetti squash, how to harvest it correctly, and how to cure and store it.

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How to Know When to Pick Spaghetti Squash

It can be difficult to tell when winter squash is ready to be picked, especially if this is your first time growing it. The fruits don’t go through quite as obvious changes as other vegetables like tomatoes or peppers.

Spaghetti squash needs a long growing season. If you have a short growing season, it can be challenging to bring squash to maturity. In order for spaghetti squash to ripen, it needs warmer temperatures.

Signs spaghetti squash is ready to pick

Sometimes people are confused about the term winter squash and think that means they need to grow this variety of winter squash in the fall or winter.

Winter squash refers to the squash being suitable for longterm storage so you can eat it in the winter.

This is different from summer squashes, like zucchini, that are not well-suited to storage. Your spaghetti squash harvest should be ready in early autumn or late summer. If you planted after your last frost date, harvest time will probably be in late September or early October.

You always need to pick your squashes and pumpkins before danger of frost. Cucurbits are all very frost tender and will die in a frost.

Spaghetti squash days to maturity

The first step to determining if your squash is ready to pick is to calculate the number of days to maturity.

Most spaghetti squash varieties will be ripe in 90-110 days after sowing the seeds. Look at the seed packet to determine the exact maturity period for the squash you’re growing. Use this information to give yourself an approximate harvest date range.

Once this date range gets close, or is past, it’s a good idea to check your squash daily. In my experience, plants almost always take longer than the estimated maturity dates. If you’re before your estimated date, chances are very good that your squash isn’t ripe.

Weather has a large impact on plant growth. The plants also need full sun and fertile soil. A lack of either will delay your mature fruits from appearing. Squash plants also need well-drained soil and can be prone to downy mildew if they get wet.

Spaghetti squash Color

The color of all winter squash deepens and becomes more vibrant as the fruit matures. Spaghetti squash should be a rich golden yellow color when it’s ripe. If the fruits are still pale yellow or a green color, the quash isn’t ripe.

The spaghetti squash in the photo below is definitely not ready to pick.

Some spaghetti squash have a green, mottled appearance. The green portions of these squash will remain green when ripe, but the pockets of color between the green webbing will appear golden. Keep an eye out for these color changes.

Skin Dullness

While you want to wait for the skin to become richly colored, you also want to wait until the squash skin loses its glossiness. Shiny, orange skin is the sign of immature winter squash, while non-glossy skin indicates ripeness.

Skin Toughness

One of the most important tests you can perform on spaghetti squash is the fingernail test. Try to puncture the skin of a squash you think is ready with your fingernail. If you easily press through the skin, it’s not ready. If the skin resists, chances are good the squash is ready.

Vine Dryness

When spaghetti squash is ready to pick, the vine will typically look tan or brown, and the stem that comes out of the fruit will likely be dry and brown as well.

However, there are other factors that can cause brown vines and stems (like squash vine borers or squash bugs), so look for this sign after you’ve checked on color and skin toughness.

However, the attached inches of stem should turn fully brown during the curing or hardening stage. A brown vine is one indicator that tells you your spaghetti squash is cured and ready for storage.

Keep in mind that squash from the same plant won’t all be ripe at once. You can have ripe squash and unripe squash on the same plant because the fruits will mature at different times.

Only harvest the squash that is actually mature, and let the rest continue to ripen on the vine. In the picture below you can see squash in various stages of un-ripeness:

Always harvest winter squash before freezing weather comes through, even if it’s not fully ripe yet. Squash is very frost tender (it doesn’t even like cooler, but still above freezing, temperatures.)

Watch this demonstration of the fingernail test below. It shows examples of both yellow and green spaghetti squash that are ripe and unripe.

It’s a great resource if you want to see specific examples, and she has a neat way of growing her squash plants so the fruits are elevated and easy to cure outdoors.

How to Harvest Spaghetti Squash

Knowing when to pick spaghetti squash is important for getting the perfect texture and flavor, but harvesting correctly is important if you want to store any of your squash.

The best way to harvest winter squash is with a sharp (and clean) pair of hand pruners or a sharp knife. Trying to twist the fruits off the vine can damage the plant and make the squash unfit for storage.

Use your chosen tool to cut each spaghetti squash off with a good 3-4” of stem attached. Avoid puncturing the fruit or cutting too close to the top, since both of these make storage difficult.

It’s important to use a sturdy pair of pruners to cut through large squash stems. You need a nice, clean cut, not a jagged, ripping one caused by trying to hack through the stem with too small or too flimsy tools.

The picture below shows harvesting a summer squash that’s supposed to be green, not spaghetti squash, but the process is the same. I recommend wearing cut resistant gloves and long sleeves when harvesting any squash. Squash stems are prickly and can aggravate sensitive skin.

Fiskar’s bypass pruners are my top “budget” pick. For something more durable that will last longer, get Felco Pruning Shears. They’re fantastic for single-handed operation, even with tougher vines, and incredibly durable. (Note – for larger hands, make sure to get the Felco F2 model because they’re bigger.) Felco pruners are Swiss-made and all the parts are replaceable so you can buy new blades as needed without replacing the entire tool.

Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears, 5/8-Inch Cut Capacity Garden Clippers,...