Winter squash, all in the cucurbit family, includes pumpkins, spaghetti, butternut, acorn, Hubbard, delicata, and others.

They all need long growing seasons, some more than 100 days to harvest, and store well for longer periods after being cured.

For most varieties, harvesting occurs from September to October, before the first hard frost.

The ideal scenario is to let them completely ripen on the vine and harden off in the field.

When ripe, pumpkins and winter squash turn the appropriate colors for their variety, uniformly across the entire fruit. For most pumpkins, that will be a vivid orange.

When ripe pumpkins have hard, shiny shells that can’t be punctured easily with your fingernail. The shells of other winter squash will lose the glossiness of youth as their rinds become harder and more durable.

Vines start to dry and wither from maturity, not disease, and slowly die back, exposing the abundance hiding beneath their leaves.

At this point, stems can be cut with a knife or cutters, leaving three or four inches of “handle” attached to the pumpkin, but just a one-inch stub for other winter squash.

This “handle” should never be used to lift or carry the fruit because it can be easily broken off.

A broken “handle” would not only ruin the pumpkin’s aesthetics but also create an entrance for bacteria and disease, encouraging rot and other premature spoilage.

Handle the fruits delicately because marks, bruises or punctures to the skin will shorten storage time.

Harden off the squash for about seven to 14 days by letting them sit in the field if conditions are favorable.

You can also lift the fruit off the ground and place it in single layers in a dry, well-ventilated spot.

Once cured, your unmarked and intact squash can then be put into long-term storage in a cool, well-ventilated area with temperatures from 50 to 60 degrees and relative humidity from 50 to 75 percent. This prevents shriveling.

Storage time is two or three months for most squash, with acorn being shorter (five to eight weeks), and Hubbard being longer (five to six months).

Temperatures should not drop below 50 degrees. Exposure to temperatures lower than that can cause chilling injury.

Those fruits should be used immediately because storage is predictably unreliable.

Unripe pumpkins can continue to ripen off the vine, provided they have started to turn orange.

If you are impatient and must have that pumpkin now and it still has some green on it, go ahead and harvest.

If disease or pests are damaging the vines, or there is a threat of a hard freeze, bring the pumpkins in.

Pumpkins can survive a light frost that will damage vines, but a hard freeze (less than 28 degrees) will weaken the rind and give bacteria an entry, which can shorten storage time significantly.

The semi-ripened fruits should be cut off the vines and set to cure in a well-ventilated space with temperatures from 80 to 85 degrees. Semi-ripened fruit do not store well.

But there are always exceptions to the rule.

For instance, curing acorn squash may be detrimental since the skins are thinner and more delicate, and storage time is already the shortest of all the squashes.

Do not attempt to store fruit that has been bruised or punctured, as that is a recipe for failure.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613