With the gardening season winding down, it's time to think about storing and cooking some of your prized harvest. One crop that is easy to keep and cook with is winter squash. Whether you grow butternut, buttercup, acorn, or one of the many exotic winter squash types, this group of Cucurbits can be stored for months under the right conditions and used to make great soups, pies, casseroles, and breads. Plus, winter squash are high in vitamin C and minerals such as magnesium and potassium, so they're good for you, too.

Here's how to store and cook winter squash.

When mature, winter squash develop a hard skin that protects them from rotting. Harvest winter squash when the fruits have turned the appropriate color for the variety you're growing and your thumbnail can't pierce the skin. Be sure to harvest before a hard frost since the cold can hasten rotting. Cut the vegetables from the vine, leaving a 4- to 6-inch-long handle. However, don't try to move the squash fruits by grabbing the handles, which can easily break under the weight of the fruit. Avoid bruising or scraping the squash skin or it won't store very long. Cook any damaged fruits first.

Leave the winter squash in the sun to dry for a few hours after harvest. Brush off any soil and debris, wash the skins with a mild bleach solution (1 cup bleach per 1 gallon water) then move them to a warm (75 to 80 degrees F) shed or garage to cure. After about one week of curing, store them in a cool basement or root cellar. Ideally the storage temperature should be between 45 and 55 degrees F with low humidity. If you don't have a root cellar, any cool, dark location, such as a closet floor or cool kitchen cupboard will do. I've even heard of gardeners storing their winter squash under the bed! The closer the conditions are to ideal, the longer the squash will keep. Check the winter squash periodically throughout the winter months, removing and discarding any that have soft spots or show signs of rotting.

The type of winter squash you decide to grow, buy, or cook is a matter of personal taste. Some of the most popular types include butternut squash varieties, such as 'Early Butternut' and 'Zenith'. Butternut squash have a bottle shape, smooth tan skin, and moist, nutty-flavored, orange flesh. They make great pies and stews, and are tasty when steamed or baked and drizzled with maple syrup or brown sugar.

An acorn squash looks like a blackish green, white, or golden (depending on the variety) ribbed football. The fruits weigh 1 to 3 pounds at maturity. The pale orange, slightly fibrous flesh is tender, dry, and sweet. This squash is at its best when baked. Buttercup squash have a squat shape, dark green skin, and a turban-like cap on the blossom end. The orange flesh is sweet and somewhat dry. It can be baked, stuffed, or used in soups. Some of the newer varieties, such as 'Turban' and 'Kaboucha', have become very popular for their colorful skins and flavorful flesh.