I have a 10 x 20 x8 greenhouse that is a plastic vinyl cover style similar to a portable garage. We're zone 8a, in the mountains of central California and saw temps down to 22 degrees in December. We set it up as a greenhouse inside of a greenhouse. We have a 5x10 raised bed that we cover at night with survival blankets (high quality reusable, 5x7ft size $18 each, sewn together to make a larger cover) and heat with old fashioned Christmas lights and when cold, a small heater that has a very low thermostat shut off temp. We also have a 4x4ft table top that has a mini greenhouse over the top that we also cover with a survival blanket to reflect the Christmas tree lights back inside. I have 3 large tomato plants and 3 cherry tomatoes in there. I have toms every day. We also have a Japanese eggplant that is producing fruit we should be able to harvest in about a month, a regular eggplant also with baby eggplants on it. We have hot chili peppers I'm harvesting right now. We also have bush beans, but they're at the end of their life cycle - still alive but pretty tired. We have 3 mini bell peppers, two were hit pretty hard by a mildewy substance and aphids, the other is still doing well (2 different beds) but the bad ones produced up until about the end of December. We also have the typical cold weather kale, swiss chard, cabbage, and the like as well as plenty of lettuce, onion and cilantro (LOVE salsa and we're still making it fresh). It only takes me 7 minutes to close up the greenhouse at night and 5 minutes to open things up in the morning and we're not seeing a huge jump in the electric bill. It seems like the heater comes on no more than for a couple minutes and the survival blankets trap that heat for a long time. The heater is on a stepping stone at soil level so the roots are keeping warm as well. Hope this helps :-) I'm not sure if these links will post pictures but I'm giving it a try [URL=http://s147.photobucket.com/user/Audreyjeanne/media/12-5-13E_zps51a89ed3.jpg.html][IMG]http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/Audreyjeanne/12-5-13E_zps51a89ed3.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s147.photobucket.com/user/Audreyjeanne/media/12-5-13C_zpse12655d4.jpg.html][IMG]http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/Audreyjeanne/12-5-13C_zpse12655d4.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Thank you for the follow ups. Yes, long term storage is quite important to me. Last year a great many of my squash were not ideal even when not stored long (as stated in the OP, I picked the bulk of the crop on August 15). I resolved to leave 2013 squash on the vine until well into October come hell, high water or an army of critters (in my yard that means squirrels). Some years ago, IIRC, squirrels weren't a problem, but for around 4 years running now, they are a huge problem every year, that in spite of my having deposited two of them in the park ~6 miles away and killing one with a rat trap. I stopped setting rat traps, I've found the squirrels trip them and generally seem unfazed. One time, however, one did die. This year a squirrel (I assume it's only one, but who knows?), has tripped my trap but somehow not been caged. I figure sooner or later I will get him/her, or else the beast will wise up and stop hitting the trap. They do seem clever at times. I'm seriously contemplating buying a pellet gun. I'm curious, is there a way I can configure things so I get emails when someone responds in this thread? I have not seen that in these forums yet, and I did look today when I registered and posted this. I only see something about allowing people to post me directly through email, which I'm not sure about.

No they can't get too big. Anytime frost threatens, time to harvest it all. When the vines are dead or almost dead, harvest (as in your last photo of delicata). When the thumbnail test says the rind is hard you can harvest. Your butternuts look a bit green still, and the plants still have lots of life, so if there is minimal threat of bug or critter damage, more time on the vine would be great. Acorn will have an orange blush on one section when it is ripe. I've read that lifting delicata up off the ground on, say, a plastic coffee can lid to prevent rotting while it ripens is a good idea. Your one scrawny delicata might just be insufficient pollination. I actually disagree with some of what is in that linked article: fine to leave curing squash out doors, just not on the ground (a deck or porch is fine.) Best storage conditions for squash is around 55 and DRY(colder, 40 as they say, not necessary and can actually detract from storage and flavor. This same organization has another article that states this. They are not editing very well.). Also, I would not recommend a garage or basement -- too humid, and that causes rot. A cool bedroom is great. Also, cut or bruised butternut need not be eaten asap -- it normally heals just fine and butternut will not taste it's best until at least 2 months storage. So put the damaged squash in a separate box and watch it closely. If there are any signs of rot, then go ahead and eat it. But I have had deer bitten butternut last until the next June, no problem.

This is repeating another question. -- https://www.houzz.com/discussions/had-to-harvest-winter-squash-early-help-with-storage-prep-needed-dsvw-vd~5446167 Is this a different question? If you have one question, stick with one thread.