By Deb Heleba
The recent cold snap—with widespread frost and even a freeze in some spots in Vermont—likely marked the end of the season for pumpkins and winter squash. Unless your area escaped the frost or you covered these crops, their tender foliage succumbed to the autumn temperatures.
In general, the timing of pumpkin and squash harvest can be tricky as picking them too early, before they are mature, results in poor flavor and color but harvesting too late leads to cold injury and quicker breakdown. Hopefully, your crops have made it to maturity with pumpkins having a uniform orange color. Winter squashes—acorn, hubbard, buttercup, butternut and others—should have solid color and hardened, thumbnail-resistant skins.
Source : uvm.edu