How to Cure and Store Winter Squash and Pumpkins

Cure butternut, hubbard, and pumpkins about 10 days at 80 to 85F, then store at 50 to 55F and 50 to 70% humidity. Skip curing for acorn squash.

Published 2026-10-07 by ThriveThyme

winter squash pumpkin curing storage fall harvest

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The Short Answer

Pick winter squash and pumpkins before frost, once the rind is hard. Cure butternut, hubbard, and pumpkins for about 10 days at 80 to 85F. Do not cure acorn squash. Then store all of them at 50 to 55F and 50 to 70% humidity, on shelves, away from apples and pears.

Use the Harvest Storage Desk to see your frost countdown and check off each crop as it goes into storage.

How Long Each Type Keeps

| Type | Cure? | Storage life at 50 to 55F | | --- | --- | --- | | Acorn | No | 5 to 8 weeks | | Butternut | Yes, about 10 days | 2 to 3 months | | Hubbard | Yes, about 10 days | 5 to 6 months | | Pumpkins | Yes, about 10 days | 2 to 3 months |

Home storage rarely holds a perfect temperature, so plan on the short end of each range.

Harvest Right First

The rind should resist a fingernail and look dull, not glossy. The stem should be dry and corky. See when to harvest squash.
Cut with pruners. Leave about 1 inch of stem on squash and a few inches on pumpkins. Fruit without a stem does not store well.
Never carry squash or pumpkins by the stem.
Bring everything in before the first frost. Fruit that is immature or hit by frost will not keep. Eat it soon or cook and freeze it.

How to Cure

Curing hardens the skin and heals small cuts and scratches.

Hold fruit at 80 to 85F with 80 to 85% humidity for about 10 days.
A warm room or a dry, sunny enclosed porch works. Keep air moving and keep fruit out of rain.
Fully mature squash can go straight to storage; University of Minnesota Extension calls curing unnecessary for winter squash. Curing helps most with fruit that was picked a little early.
Skip acorn squash. Iowa State Extension notes that the heat and humidity of curing lower acorn quality and storage life.

How to Store

Keep cured fruit at 50 to 55F and 50 to 70% humidity in a dry, ventilated spot such as a basement shelf or a cool closet.
Not the fridge. Pumpkins are damaged by temperatures below 45F, and squash keeps best above 50F.
Set fruit on shelves in a single layer, not piled.
Keep squash away from apples, pears, and other ripening fruit. The ethylene they give off shortens storage life.
Check every couple of weeks. Use any fruit with a soft spot first.

Next Steps

1. Run the Harvest Storage Desk for the rest of your storage crops. 2. Pick other tender crops with the Frost Harvest Desk. 3. Close out empty beds with Garden to Bed.

Shop winter squash seed for next year at Seeds Now.