text: Winter squashes have hard skins and take a while to fully mature. The best thing to do is leave them on the vine for as long as possible until you can’t press your thumbnail into the skin. That typically coincides with the first frost in your region.
  To harvest, cut the fruit from the vine. If the weather allows, cure them in the field for 1-2 weeks, but you might need to bring them inside and leave them in a sunny location for two weeks.