Extending the storage life of your winter squash
Curing Winter Squash
It's the time of year when winter squash is ready to come out of the field. To extend the storage life of your winter squash, it is essential to harvest, cure and store your fruits properly. This will prevent disease and increase the shelf life of your stored winter squash.
Harvest
When fruit is fully mature with skin that is fully colored. Stems should be drying down and retaining minimal moisture. Vines may have died, especially due to mildew pressure, but don't wait for the vines to die back completely if the fruit is mature. Use clippers or loppers to harvest the stem about 1” from fruit, in one clean cut. Be careful not to puncture or damage the skin of the fruit, as this will lead to bacteria and mold issues in storage that can easily spread to the rest of your healthy fruit. Be sure to keep the stem attached to the fruit, as this will prevent bacteria from entering at the stem end. Harvest when fruit and ground is dry, if possible, and be sure to harvest before any heavy frost, which will damage your crop.
Cure
This will extend the storability of your fruit. Curing hardens the skin and will also enhance the flavor as more starches will turn to sugars in the process. To properly cure, the ideal temperature is 80-85° F with relative humidity at 80-85%. Place squash in a single layer on tables or racks with chicken wire, or semi-open trays, and leave in this environment for 10-14 days with adequate air circulation. Squash can also be field cured if the weather is warm and dry enough. Do not cure acorn squash, as it will shorten its storage life.
Store
Once winter squash is properly cured, store in a dry, cool place with good ventilation. Ideal storage temperature is 50-55° F. In general, smaller fruited varieties will not store as long as larger fruited varieties, so sell and eat through smaller types earlier. When properly harvested, cured and stored, winter squash can last for multiple months. Acorn/Spaghetti will store for 5-8 weeks, Kuri/Delicata for 2-3 months, Hubbard/Kabocha/Butternut for 4-5 months.
