Pick summer squash while the fruit is small and the skin is glossy. In Vermont, expect the first ones in early to mid July from seed sown after the last frost. Eat or process them fast. The refrigerator holds them for up to a week, and no cellar will stretch that. A glut calls for the freezer, the dehydrator or a tested pickle recipe. Winter squash are the ones that keep for months.
When summer squash are ready in Vermont
Summer squash is ready when the fruit is still small, the skin is glossy and a fingernail pierces it without effort. In Vermont that usually means early to mid July from a sowing after the last spring frost, because the first picking comes about 55 days after planting, according to Clemson Cooperative Extension. Seed packet days for squash count from sowing, so the clock starts the day the seed goes in the ground.
At Burlington, the NOAA 1991-2020 normals put the last 32°F freeze between April 30 and May 10 (the 30 to 70 percent probability band). Squash dies at the first touch of frost, so most gardeners wait until the late end of that range or a little past it. Sow on May 10 and the first fruit lands near the Fourth of July. Sow in the last week of May and it slides toward the third week of July. Burlington sits on Lake Champlain, the mildest corner of the state. The Green Mountains and the Northeast Kingdom run substantially shorter, so count on later dates there. Vermont spans USDA hardiness zones 3b to 5b (2023 map), and a hillside garden may be a full zone or two colder than the valley floor.
Varieties differ in how fast they bear, which is worth a look before you order seed. The Best Summer Squash to Grow in Vermont covers the ones that suit a short season.
How often should you pick summer squash?
Every day or two once the plants are producing. The plant stops setting new fruit once one fruit matures on the vine, so the harvest itself drives the yield. A zucchini that looks modest on Monday can be the size of a club by Thursday in warm weather. Cut the fruit with a short piece of stem attached, and check under the big leaves, where the fruit hides.
When does the squash harvest end in Vermont?
The first fall freeze at Burlington arrives between October 3 and October 13, and it finishes the vines. Plants in colder valleys and higher towns go sooner. Pests often end the harvest earlier than frost does. What Eats Summer Squash in Vermont, and When explains which insects to watch for and when they show up.
Summer heat rarely stalls the plants. Burlington averages only 5.4 days a year at 90°F or more, so summer heat stress on fruit set stays modest. Water matters more. The region can usually expect about 11.9 inches of rain from June through August (4.26 in June, 4.06 in July and 3.54 in August, the driest of the three). Sandy soil drains that rain within a day, while clay holds it for a week, so a sandy bed may need water every second day even in a wet summer. A rain gauge on your own plot settles it, since slopes and local weather shift the totals.
Keeping them, and for how long
Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Home & Garden Information Center advises storing summer squash in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. That is the ceiling under good conditions. A fruit picked a little large, nicked by a hoe or left sitting in the sun will go sooner. Plan on using what you pick within a few days and treat the last of the week as borrowed time.
Can summer squash be stored like winter squash?
No. Winter squash are picked mature, with a hard rind, and cured so they keep for months in a cool room. Summer squash are picked immature, with thin skin and a high water content, and there is no curing step that changes that. A cellar shelf that works for butternut will leave zucchini soft and moldy in a week or two. If you are hoping to bank a July harvest for winter, the answer is the freezer or the pantry, and the plan has to start the day you pick.
Handle the fruit gently, because the skin bruises easily and a bruise is where decay starts. Keep it dry going into the bag, and use the soft or damaged ones first.
What can you do with a glut of summer squash?
A glut usually arrives in late July and August, when every plant is bearing at once. The options that work, roughly from least to most effort:
- Shred it, pack it in portions sized for a loaf of bread or a pot of soup, and freeze it.
- Slice or cube it, blanch it and freeze it for casseroles and sautés.
- Dry thin rounds in a dehydrator for chips or soup additions.
- Make pickles or relish from a tested recipe, since plain canned squash is not a recommended preserving method.
- Hand a bag to neighbors, coworkers or a local food shelf, which often welcomes fresh produce in summer.
For blanching times and tested preserving recipes, the University of Vermont Extension and your county office are good places to check before you start. Smaller fruit freezes with firmer texture than oversized ones, which is another reason to pick early and often. The big overgrown ones are best shredded for baking.
If the plants produce more than you can handle, the whole-plant picture is in Growing Summer Squash in Vermont, from spacing to succession sowing.
Where in the house that actually is
The refrigerator is the closest match to the storage advice, and it is also the place where things go wrong. A domestic fridge often runs colder than a warm-season crop likes, especially near the back wall and the cooling vents. Summer squash left too cold for too long can develop pitted, sunken, water-soaked patches that turn to rot. The crisper drawer is usually the mildest spot, and the plastic bag keeps the fruit from drying out in the fridge’s dry air.
A thermometer settles it. Leave an inexpensive appliance thermometer in the crisper drawer for a full day before you trust it with a week’s harvest. If the drawer runs colder than the rest of the fridge, move the bag toward the front, away from the back wall, or keep the squash in a shorter rotation of three or four days.
How do other rooms compare for storing summer squash?
| Spot | What happens | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator crisper drawer, in a plastic bag | The recommended method, but it can run colder than the fruit tolerates | Best choice, check with a thermometer |
| Kitchen counter or any heated room | Too warm, so the fruit wilts and softens within days | Fine for a day before cooking |
| Garage or mudroom | Swings from hot July afternoons to freezing October nights | Unreliable |
| Basement or root cellar | Cool and damp, which suits winter squash and encourages mold on summer squash | Skip it |
Vermont houses make the counter option worse than it looks. A kitchen near a woodstove or a south-facing window can run warm enough to soften a zucchini in a couple of days. An unheated porch looks like a shortcut in September, but one clear night near the first-frost window of October 3 to 13 can freeze the fruit solid and turn it to mush when it thaws. When the harvest is bigger than the drawer, the freezer is the next stop, and the sooner the better.
Common questions
How big should summer squash be when I pick it?
Pick while the fruit is small and tender, the skin is glossy and a fingernail pierces it easily. A dull skin, a tough rind and big seeds inside mean the fruit has gone past its best. It is still usable shredded for baking, but it is no longer ideal for the table.
Can I leave a zucchini on the plant to get big?
You can, but the plant slows down. Once a fruit matures, the vine stops setting new ones, so one oversized zucchini can cut off the next weeks of harvest. Cut the big ones and keep picking the small ones every day or two.
How long does summer squash last in the refrigerator?
Up to 1 week in a plastic bag, according to Clemson Cooperative Extension. That is the maximum under good conditions, so fruit that is bruised, overripe or stored in a very cold spot in the fridge will go sooner.
Can I store summer squash in a cellar for the winter?
No. Summer squash has thin skin and a high water content, and it does not keep the way winter squash does. For winter eating, freeze it shredded or blanched, dry it or turn it into a tested pickle or relish.