How to Harvest Butternut Squash Before a Frost

Butternut squash is a low-calorie food that contains antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and may help support stable blood sugar levels and cardiovascular health. Additionally, this hardy fruit stores well for several months under optimum conditions. If you have a garden, don't be shy about planting plenty of squash to enjoy over the winter. Harvest your butternut squash before the frosts arrive, typically in September or October.

Pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Feel the rind of the butternut squash. Mature squash have hard rinds. Try digging your fingernails into the gourd. If it is ready for harvest, your fingernail will not puncture the hard rind.
- 2
  Examine the color and tone of the rind. As butternut squash matures, the rind changes from shiny to dull and from smooth to rough. The skin on the butternut squash will be an off-white tan or cream color although its flesh is deep orange.
- 3
  Cut the squash from the vine with a pair of pruning shears. Leave about 2 inches of stem on the gourd and avoid bruising or puncturing the rind.
- 4
  Store butternut squash for no longer than two or three months. This type of gourd keeps well at 50 degrees F in 50 to 75 percent relative humidity.

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