Hi. I have butternuts that are tan and hard. Can I pick them now, or I'd there benefit to leaving them on longer? I want to make room for some fall transplants.



They are the Waltham variety.

Gorgeous fruit!

That top one looks ready. The bottom one, I'm not sure. I like to see the stems turning brown before I harvest.

Does the plant give it more nutrition the longer it is on the vine? Or is it just a place for it to hang out until there is a frost? It has been that color for three weeks.

That's beyond my knowledge set. My grandpa in Wisconsin used to leave them on the vine until after the first light frost. Then he'd go out into the field and pick them up. I always assumed it was so that they'd be easier to find but maybe he knew something more than I'm thinking!

I always left winter squashes until frost killed the leaves, too. I think as long as the plant has green leaves, and the sun is shining they are making sugar for the fruit as well as energy for the plant.

As Dave said, though, the brown stem usually means the plant is ready to let that fruit fall. On the other hand, you do sometimes see squash for sale with green stems and they taste fine.