100 days

My garden has passed 100 days since I planted the seeds, and it became time to retire the first plant. A tired looking green been. The younger ones were pruned but the eldest bit the dust (bit the composter to be exact). And I harvested the most ripe of the butternut squashes. The seed packet said 105 days, but the vines looked yellow, the fruit looked pink and sometimes you just gotta go for it. So I did. I cut 8 of them. And most of them snapped off as I was cutting/fiddling with them so I was vindicated. The fine university website I found (here) said I should cure them for 10 days at 80-85F, so I just left them in a box on the picnic table. The curing is supposed to help wound heal so that you can store them for extended periods without rotting. Sounds good in theory, but I have no place which is 50-60F to move them to for long term storage. Inside the house is 75 at coolest this time of year and outside peaks at 90... moving them in for day and out for night just seems unreasonable. So maybe they'll be gifted or eaten sooner than later. I suppose I should stick one or two in the closet or bathtub (2 coolest places) to test the theory that 50-60 degrees is needed... And knock on wood but I found a watermelon that's about the size of a lime (please please let it live to be 20=25 lbs as the seed packet advertised).