Some ideas on how to get squash to ripen

I keep meaning to snap a photo of my pathetic squash plants and post it on this blog. They just aren’t growing the way they normally do. This spring has done a number on our heat lovers.

Fortunately, master gardener Cathy McPhail has some ideas. Here’s a message she sent to her master gardener buddies. She kindly let me share it with you:

“I would say it depends on the progress of the development of the squash plant, and any squash on the vine. Squash that have reached full maturity should be harvested and that will allow other squash on the vine to mature.

“If the squash were planted late and the vines have a number of immature squash I would then suggest removing the smallest squash to allow the larger ones to have a better chance to mature before frost occurs.

“I live in an area that can have an early frost and when the nights start to get colder I will cover plants that I want to protect from any chance of frost. What to use to cover the plants with- well newspaper works well, along with black plastic spread over all. Just remember to uncover the plants during the day.”