What I have read - getting frost nipped does something to the enzymes of the fruit and changes the acidity levels, making tested recipes and methods no longer valid. Which means if you want to be safe according to Standards, do not use them in canning, if you follow other standards, then it's up to you. John - my sister had a PYO berry patch, and the only reason to put water on was to keep them from freezing in the first place. Though she was doing this in the spring, she would often be up very early running the sprinkler system on the berries to keep the fruit from getting frost bit. Waiting until after the fruit was frosted would have had no effect. Though if you got to them right away, you could keep the frost from doing more damage, and usualy the coldest temps are right before sunrise.

They're all safe to eat as long as they are in good enough condition to be edible.

Glenda, I don't think moderate light hurts. I think direct sunlight on the pumpkins would be the problem, but not indirect light. It does sound like your cellar might be too damp for pumpkins. Bring them in before temperatures dip below 50 degrees for best quality, and definitely before freezing temperatures arrive. Exposure to freezing temperatures causes fresh pumpkins to break down more quickly after they're picked and put into long-term storage. In fact, all exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees causes cumulative damage...so the more exposure in terms of number of hours the more damage. If you want to do something "different", I have 2 recipes for pumpkin pickles, but haven't made them myself so can't vouch for their flavor. Don't forget you can make pumpkin butter and other yummy goodies and freeze them....if freezer space becomes available. I consulted my "Putting Food By" book by Janet Greene, et al, and it says this about 'root cellaring' pumpkins: Harvest before frost, leaving several inches of stem. Condition at 80 degrees for a couple of weeks to harden the rind and heal surface injuries. Then store them in fairly dry air around 55 degrees. Watch the temperatures very carefully. If pumpkins in storage get much above 55 degrees, the flesh turns stringy. If exposed to temperatures much below 50 degrees, they suffer cold injuries. Place in rows on shelves (sometimes I put them on top of boards or cardboard or layers of newspaper on the floor) and not in a pile. Glenda, I usually wipe off my pumpkins before I put them into long-term storage with a soapy water solution which is about 10% bleach. This can kill any mold or fungal spores on the surface of the pumpkins and help retard spoilage in storage. Some people also coat the entire pumpkin rind in oil by rubbing vegetable oil all over it with a paper towel. This too is said to retard spoilage, but I've never tried it. HOW TO FREEZE PUMPKIN: I know your three freezers are full, but here's how to freeze it, should space become available. Cook the pumpkin to soften it. You can steam it, bake it, microwave it, cook it in a pressure cooker or boil it. Then, scrape the pumpkin meat from the rind and press it through a sieve. Pack into freezer boxes or zip-lock bags and leave 1/2" of headspace. Freeze. You can dehydrate them too, but I don't know if you have a dehydrator, so I won't describe the process. If you do have a dehydrator and want to know how to dry the pumpkins, let me know and I'll add it in another post. Hope this helps. Dawn

Thank you so much zeedman for all that feedback! Here is something about cucuzza vine tips, if you are at all interested. The tips are called terenumi but I hear any squash tip can be referred to as terenumi in Italian but I am not sure about that. Its all over the internet if you search for 'squash leaves recipes' or 'squash vine tips recipes'. Cucuzza is very similar to opo squash or bottle gourd, maybe the same vegetable, ( my God, I am telling you!), used in south east asian cusine and there too the tips and young leaves are loved in special dishes: http://cookingwithrosetta.com/tenerumi-2/ http://poorandglutenfree.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-to-do-with-squash-leaves-and-stems.html I read up quite a bit and the fuzzy nature of the tips and the stalks that you thought would be unpleasant are dealt with by peeling the stems. The little bit of soft fuzz on the leaves is delicious texturally. Not knowing if I would hear from, and not being able to resist I gathered tips from my Tromboncino and Zapallo. I found the peeling of the stems, which I thought would make me hate them, is actually very easy, much easier than even peeling garlic, it took me just a few mins. If you just touch the cut end of the stalk, wanting to peel, the fuzzy 'skin' just pulls off. I just flash stir fried them with a little onion, garlic and tomato in an Asian way and they were among the best greens I have ever tasted. And I am a greens fiend. Not at all bitter instead, sweet, smooth and flavorful. The peeling does make a difference (I left some stems with fuzz on) and makes a lot more of the stalk available for cooking and the peeled stalks are delicious. And you know what? I cut the tips yesterday afternoon and this morning I looked and each of the cut tips have 1-1/2 inch new shoot already growing from the node below. But not multiple shoots (at least not yet). Maybe you didn't want to hear all this but it was on the tip (HaH!) of my mind. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. It moved me to dig a little deeper. K.