Picking (harvesting) Summer Squash

You can start harvesting summer squash once they become 5-6 inches long. Both zucchini squash and yellow summer squash should be harvested before they get longer than 10 inches. Although larger squash can be harvested and are edible, but will not be as tender. Also, large squash may have many hard seeds inside that may not be palatable. Zucchini squash chould be cut from the plant with a knife. (Cut the squash at the small stem that attaches the squash to the plant.) Wearing gloves and long sleeved shirts is a good idea when harvesting zucchini, because they have little spines on the branches.

Take care not to cut the stems or small fruit forming near the fruit you are harvesting. Unlike zucchini, yellow squash can be hand harvested without a knife. Grab the fruit and then twist and pull away from the plant. The fruit of zucchini and yellow summer squash usually have the remains of the flower on the end of the fruit. Simply remove the dried flower by pulling it off. Both of these types of fruit are tender and easily scratched or bruised, so take care when handling them and placing them into harvesting containers. If the fruit are dirty, they can be washed. Refrigerate soon after harvest if not using them right away.

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