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info on pumpkin storage 4 winter

Hi, y'all, here's some extraneous pumpkin info I found while searching for
proofs aboput Atlantic Giant stems... It's at
http://wwwagcomm.ads.orst.edu/AgComWebFile/Garden/vegetable/squash.html
 if you want to go look at it yourself.

Oregon State University, News and Communication Services
Telephone: 541-737-4611

How to store winter squash to make it last

September 20, 1996

By Carol Savonen, 541-737-3380 
SOURCES: Bill Mansour, 541-737-5461, Daryl Richardson, 541-737-5468

You've hauled in your winter squash and pumpkins from the garden. How do
you keep them from turning into a pile of fuzzy mush before Halloween?

Cure them properly and store them at the proper temperature and humidity,
and they will last through the holiday season well into winter, explained
Bill Mansour, vegetable crops specialist and Daryl Richardson, post-harvest
physiologist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

The OSU faculty offer hints for handling and storing winter squash and
pumpkins:

•Check before harvesting to see that all winter squashes and pumpkins to be
stored have hard rinds. •Leave the stems on acorn, butternut, turban and
buttercup squash or pumpkins that have woody, angular stems. •Cut, don't
break the stems off hubbards, banana and other fleshy-stemmed squash -
these should last six months if properly stored, especially if the stem is
cut off and the stem area is well healed. Leave a three- to four-inch stem
on a pumpkin to help it last longer. Most types of pumpkins don't last as
long in storage as winter squash. •Be gentle with your produce. Try not to
drop or pile your squashes on top of one another. Injured produce spoils
quickly. •Bring winter squashes and pumpkins in before the first cold snap.
Since most squashes and pumpkins originated in tropical areas, they are
susceptible to low temperature injury. If left in the garden, they may
become cold-injured and decay prematurely in storage. Once it gets below
about 50 degrees for a week or there is extended rain, pumpkins and squash
should be brought in for storage. •Cure squashes and pumpkins after
harvesting them by holding them at warm, dry temperatures for a few days
until any cuts from harvesting heal up. •Store most winter squashes and
pumpkins as close to 50 degrees as possible and between 70 and 80 percent
humidity for best results. Good air circulation in the storage area is also
helpful. Do not store pumpkins and squash in layers. Avoid storing them
near the ground or floor where the humidity is highest. An attic or high
garage shelf, if kept above 50 degrees, may work well. Under proper storage
conditions, acorn squashes will last from 5-8 weeks, butternut squashes
from two to three months and Turban and Buttercup should keep at least
three months. •Monitor your stored pumpkins and squash and remove any that
are turning soft. 

For more information, "Storing Pumpkins and Winter Squash at Home," FS 230,
is available by mail at no charge from Publications Orders, Extension and
Experiment Station Communications, OSU, 422 Kerr Administration Building,
Corvallis, OR 97331-2119. If ordering multiple copies, enclose 25 cents for
each copy beyond six.

Denise McCann Beck
USDA Zone 7
Sunset Western 4
Coastal Bristish Columbia
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