Winter squash: prolonging shelf life

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By popular demand, a summary from 'The Compleat Squash' ...

Harvesting
Pick winter squash when their rinds harden and change colour.
Harvest earlier, rather than later; squash can mature indoors. Harvest before first frost.
Squash is ready to harvest when it resists puncture by a thumbnail.
Fruit maturity is also often accompanied by dulling of rinds, browning of stems, and yellowing or withering of rinds.
During harvest, minimise stem or pedicel injury. A damaged or missing stem invites pathogens.
Cut the fruit from the vine using a sharp blade, and leave a small piece of vine attached to the stem.

Care and Curing
Don't leave harvested squash outside: bring them indoors straight away.
Treat them gently as if they were eggs.
Never pick them up by the stalk.
Cure for 2-3 weeks in a well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight. This promotes healing of wounds and toughening of rinds, enhancing storage potential. An outbuilding or garage with open windows and doors makes a good curing shed.
Give them a gentle wash to reduce surface contaminants.

Storing
Store between 50 and 60 degrees (F), humidity 50 to 70%. These conditions, often found in basements, keep respiration and loss through shrinkage to a minimum and preserve colour and quality. Well-matured and well-cured squash will store in good contition for 3-6 months or longer.
Winter squash are bulky and require sturdy shelving.
Place fruit in single layers with ample breathing space around them.
Lining the shelves with cardboard or newspaper can make cleanup easy when squash dissolve into puddles of protoplasm  ;D.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579652514/qid%3D1136884485/202-0411622-2192660

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[Svea]

hmm, though it doesnt mention it - mine are stored on the balcony under the table against the wall. frost-free, but cold. one of the squirrels tried a nibble but gave up. i have three left now and they look as good as new.
note: my choice of storage area is entirely dictated by lack of outbuildings, garages, and suitable space indoors.

[umshamrock]

Mine have been stored on a (not too sunny) window sill in the kitchen for 3 months now and still look great.... Maybe pumpkins aren't as choosey as other squashes?

[adrianhumph]

Hi all,  :D
              my  blue kuri, crown prince, winter festival & butternuts are all doing fine in my garage just in open cardboard boxes. The temperature is always above freezing but often below the suggested temps. I hope they last at least 6 months as i have got about 20 left  8)

                                                           Adrian.
                                               

[supersprout]

hi umshamrock, there are fields and fields of orange pumpkins near me  :). Suddenly in early October all the foliage dies back at once (I wonder if they are sprayed  :'() and the pumpkins stay outdoors dotted around the fields for two or three weeks. Then they're crated to go to the supermarkets, get cut up for Halloween, and thrown away  >:(. Maybe the sitting outdoors bit is 'curing', but in that case they have often sat in the driving rain. Perhaps pumpkins are more tolerant!  ;D