Examine the coloring of the buttercup squash. This is the easiest way to tell if it is ripe. Look for dark green skin with subtle creamy stripes around the base and a cap of grayish-green skin with dark stripes along the top. Avoid squash with pale yellowish patches at the base or top. This indicates the squash is still immature.
Inspect the vine where it attaches to the top of the squash to see if it is completely desiccated and yellow. Tug on the squash to test if it will easily detach from the vine, which is a sure sign of ripeness.
Rap the buttercup squash with your knuckle. Listen for a soft, hollow sound to tell you it is ripe rather than a dull thump, which means it has a few more days to go before full maturity.
Cut the buttercup squash in half with a sharp knife. Look at the flesh to make sure it is uniformly orange in color with no white areas. Pierce the flesh with the tip of the knife to make sure it is soft, not dense and hard. Smell the flesh to see if the odor is strong and sweet rather than weak and slightly sour, which means it is still green.
You’ve planted early, hilled carefully, cultivated and fertilized. Your potato plants are full and healthy. Now you’re wondering when to harvest potatoes you’ve so carefully tended. Knowing how to harvest potatoes will help you will help you get the greatest benefit from your crop. When to Harvest Potatoes For winter storage, it’s best to let the plant and the weather tell you when to harvest potatoes. Wait until the tops of the vines have died be
Developers in Israel have created a pocket-sized sensor that uses infrared technology to determine the ripeness and nutritional information of fruits and vegetables. Use SCiO, as it’s called, to scan an apple or an avocado, and the device will send your smartphone a detailed report on what to expect from it: calories and fat grams, as well as sugar and water levels. The car clicker-sized machine relies on spectroscopy, the same kind of light-based technology that astr
This guide on how to grow spaghetti squash will help you with every step from planting to harvest. Spaghetti squash is a healthy and easy to grow squash variety that will produce well into the cooler fall months. Spaghetti can be enjoyed grilled, roasted, or even in soups and stews, making it a diverse squash variety well worth your time. If you are considering growing a squash variety this year, look below at these helpful tips on how to spaghetti squash. You might find that it is the perfect
Hellebores are easy to grow and are undemanding. They look good from January to May – even when their seed has set, their sepals are persistently handsome, eventually becoming green. Their foliage is bold and evergreen, and in some of the new hybrids the marbled leaves are just as celebrated as the flowers. Hellebores are typically woodland edge plants. They thrive in rich, moisture-retentive soil but struggle in boggy and wet conditions. Most will tolerate full sun to almost full shade.