Tips from Botanical Interests, our seed supplier
Autumn is here, and nothing says October like pumpkins. In addition to using them in delicious food dishes, there are so many creative ways to decorate pumpkins for fall. No matter what your creative inspiration, here are some tips to enjoy your creations longer.
5 Tips to Make Your Pumpkins Last Longer
1. Choose your pumpkin carefully. A soft stem, nicks, or bruises are indications that the pumpkin may have started rotting, and will not hold up as long.
2. Decorate pumpkins. Painted, glittered, and stenciled pumpkins are beautiful and hold up much longer than carved pumpkins. Painting pumpkins is a creative, interactive, and fun project for your “little pumpkins,” too!
3. Carve only a few days ahead. All carved pumpkins look their best in the first three days, so schedule your carving party accordingly. Keep carved pumpkins clean and sanitized to prevent mold from taking over. Soaking your carved pumpkin in a diluted bleach solution has proven to be the most effective method for keeping a carved pumpkin fresh and rot-free for a full week (possibly a little longer). Read this article for more tips on this method: Keeping Carved Pumpkins Fresh.
4. Do nothing. Really! For carved pumpkins, several so-called remedies like glue and hairspray actually cause mold to build up more quickly than doing nothing. An all-natural pumpkin can last up to a week, too, although the carving may shrivel a little bit (a great asset for a spooky, witch face carving!).
5. Be sure to bring pumpkins inside (carved or not) if the temperatures drop below freezing, as they could be damaged.