Thanks Ed for the advise reagarding when to pick Delicata. I read somewhere that they store as well as butternut. I recently ate my last butternut from last year; I make sure there is some stem on each one, wash with a mild chlorine solution and don't rinse, and store in a dry area under the eaves that never freezes and stays cool in the summer because it's on the north side. Do you think that will work for the Delicata? Diane, Western Mass, Zone 5