Better care for squash

The right harvesting and storage are crucial for longer lasting marrows, pumpkins and squash, as Bob explains

- Bob Flowerdew

BY now, your squash, marrow and pumpkin plants have most certainly finished. Now it’s important to get these fruits under cover before the cold (or worse, the wet) ruins them. That said, they are tough compared to most fruits and can endure the deteriorating weather for a while.

The point is that they really benefit from being left out in the fresh air on their mother plants for as long as possible, fully maturing so that they store for longer. It lets their haulms (stems) wither back, the flesh firms, seeds ripen and the skins harden considerably. In drying weather, carefully lift, turn and reset each fruit to colour and harden the pale underside for a few days.