Daily gardening tip · Northern hemisphere · Sunday 18 October 2026 · mid autumn
Harvest Squashes Before Frosts Arrive
Cold autumn frosts will ruin winter squashes and pumpkins if they are left outside on the vine.
20 minuteseasyharvesting
Check your pumpkin and squash vines for ripe fruits with hard skins.
Cut each fruit from the vine using strong secateurs, leaving a 5cm stem attached.
Avoid carrying the fruit by its stem to prevent it from snapping off.
Wipe away any loose dirt from the skin with a dry cloth.
Move the harvested squashes to a warm, sunny spot indoors to cure.
Why it works
Leaving a portion of the stem attached prevents bacteria and fungi from entering the main body of the squash through an open wound. Curing the skin in a warm place hardens the outer rind, which locks in moisture and keeps the flesh fresh for months.
An evergreen Australian native vine or scrambling shrub featuring glossy dark green foliage and profuse clusters of purple pea-like flowers. It climbs via twining stems or spreads as a dense groundcover across well-drained garden beds.
Engineered plant receptors protect global grain crops from fungus
Scientists have developed a new way to strengthen the natural immune systems of major cereal crops. By modifying specific plant receptors, researchers enabled plants to recognize and defend against multiple fungal threats at once. This breakthrough could help safeguard wheat, rice, and barley against destructive infections.
English botanist and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper is born in 1616
On 18 October 1616, influential English herbalist and botanist Nicholas Culpeper was born. He later published major works including The Complete Herbal, which provided common people with accessible knowledge on medicinal plants. His writings helped make botanical remedies widely usable outside elite medical circles.
