I was going to harvest my Kabochas as the vine dies off later to let them ripen more and develop more starch. However, today I found the one on the right side of the image cracked, so I might as well harvest the one on the left side as well. The latter cracked slightly a few day ago or longer already and the skin peeled off...

1. Why were they cracked? They were not the first 2 cracked. I had another one 5 days ago.

2. The one on the right side had a similar deeper color of dark green. However, it started turning lighter and lighter. It almost looks like having a frosted film on it, but no, it's not the film. The color changed and turned lighter. Why did it turn lighter?

3. What should I do now with both that I harvested. I heard that once you harvest a Ka
   bocha, you let it sit in the room temperature for 2 weeks and then put it in a closet or cooler place to develop the starch. Since mine already cracked and open, bugs and stuff might get into the flesh. Should I put them in the fridge now?

Thanks