Spaghetti Squashes - time to bring them in? And curing tips please...

Hi folks

It's been quite an unsuccessful year with squashes, but I do at least have a few...

The plants are pretty much completely gone, but no frosts due. Should I get these in anyway seeing as the plants are so dead? And any tips on further ripening/curing once I have got them in?

You may notice the squashes are a bit mottled/discoloured in the photos. Is that normal? I've not seen it before in previous years if memory serves.

Many thanks

PS - for the first time ever I had slug this year eat into adult squashes like those in the photo. Seems the slugs will stop at nothing this year. I mentioned it to an experienced grower who said he has never known it, so was curious to ask if anyone here has had that happen to theirs?

 

Hi @Engelbert
It's been a bad year for squashes.
Yes, harvest them now, but I doubt they'll fully ripen. I had that mottling a few years back on semi-ripe fruit after a poor summer/autumn, and it appeared to be a fungal infection of the fruit, so I discarded the affected ones, but they may be edible if eaten straight away?
You normally leave the stem and a little of the main vine when you harvest squashes for storing.

 

maybe eat the greener ones first
you can try curing them by leaving them somewhere really dry

i read they dont store great anyway so try to eat before christmas? ive got half of a month old one in the fridge thats still fine