How do I store winter squash so it lasts through winter?
Cure winter squash at 80–85°F for 10–14 days to harden the skin, then store at 50–60°F in a cool, dry location — not the refrigerator.
Curing is what separates squash that lasts 3–4 months from squash that goes soft in 3–4 weeks. Curing at warm temperatures (80–85°F) with good air circulation for 10–14 days allows the cut stem end and any surface nicks to heal over with a corky layer, hardens the skin, and concentrates sugars. A warm, dry room — or a spot in a greenhouse or heated garage — works well. Space squash so they're not touching, and don't stack them during curing.
After curing, store at 50–60°F in a dry location. A cool basement, a spare room, a garage that doesn't freeze, or a root cellar all work. Refrigerator temperatures (34–38°F) are actually too cold for most winter squash — chilling injury affects the texture and flavor, and stored squash held at refrigerator temperatures for weeks will deteriorate faster than squash in a cool room.
Some types cure and store differently. Acorn squash does not cure well — it tends to get stringy with extended curing. Store acorn squash uncured at 50–55°F and use within 4–8 weeks. Butternut, Hubbard, and delicata squash take curing well and can store 3–6 months in good conditions. Spaghetti squash stores for 4–6 months.
The stem is important. Always leave 1–2 inches of stem attached to the squash — squash with stems broken off near the skin are entry points for rot and won't store as well. Never carry squash by the stem; treat the stem as fragile. A squash that falls and loses its stem should be used or preserved soon rather than stored.
- Black RotV-shaped yellow lesions at brassica leaf margins with blackened veins inside — a bacterial disease that moves through the vascular system.
- Gray Mold (Botrytis)Gray-brown fuzzy mold on fruit, flowers, or stems — soft, collapsing tissue beneath the coating in cool, wet conditions.
- Brown Marmorated Stink BugSunken, corky dimples on fruit and pods caused by a mottled brown shield bug feeding through the skin.
- Cabbage MaggotBrassica transplants wilting and dying as white maggots tunnel through roots at or below the soil line.
- Carrot Rust FlyRusty tunnels through carrot and parsnip roots made by small white maggots feeding inside the root.
- How do I know when to harvest garlic?Harvest garlic when roughly half of the leaves (scapes) have turned brown and dried — this corresponds to the bulb having formed its full complement of papery wrapper layers.
- How do I know when a watermelon is ripe?Check the ground spot (it should be creamy yellow, not white), the tendril nearest the fruit (dry and brown means ripe), and the sound when you thump it (a hollow, low thud rather than a high-pitched ping).
- My tomatoes are still green as fall approaches — will they ripen on the vine?Tomatoes that have started to change color will ripen indoors just fine; fully green tomatoes will not ripen after frost — pick them at any color change and bring them in.