The wildly diverse members of the Cucurbitaceae family hail from every corner of the world, but have been in Southern gardens so long that they feel like natives. They have 7 interbreeding and evolving species in 3 genera. The Cucurbita genus includes four. Cucurbita pepo is the pumpkin, which we know in many variations: squash, summer squash, cushaw and pumpkins. C. maxima, C. mixta and C. moshuta are true pumpkins, although we know them as winter squash. The Cucumis genus includes cucumbers (C. sativus) and melons (C. melo). And the Citrullus genus includes only one species, C. vulgaris, the watermelon. With the exception of summer squash, all members of this family grow on the vine. And they are so similar that, with a few changes, they can be treated as a single vegetable. This family is absolutely intolerant to frost; requires rich, moist, light, warm and clean soil. Its members are plagued by beetles, squash borers and soil-borne diseases that can only be defeated with good hygiene. As a defense against roaches, till the bed in the fall and again, if possible, after the first freeze, and rotate, rotate, rotate. If you find beetles on your plants, remove them by hand; If you find clusters of red eggs on the undersides of leaves or just below the soil surface, scrub them off. These clusters are pumpkin borers, your nemesis. They are wasp eggs that are deposited in June and soon hatch as small white larvae that burrow into the stems of plants and suck them to death. I'm still looking for an answer to this problem, but this year I plan to build some mesh curtains over my plants to keep the wasps away. I will be using loosely woven wedding netting on a tubular frame in hopes of allowing enough light and a... paper medium... between the zucchini on the vine until they are fully ripe; they will not continue to ripen after being picked, and although a light frost can shorten the fruit's shelf life, it can enhance its flavor. You will get maximum yield by harvesting the ripe fruit before frost and leaving the rest in the field, covered with a sheet to protect it from the cold, until it is ripe. Store what you collect in a cool, dry place. Harvest winter squash only in dry weather. Cut the vine with a sharp knife, leaving 3 inches of stem attached to the fruit, and be careful not to damage the fruit, as this will invite rot. Dry the pumpkin in the sun until the stem has withered and turned grey; then place it in a 45° room with 60% humidity. It should keep for 5 months. The only exception is acorn squash. Don't dry it in the sun; keep it a little cooler and a little wetter.