Tips for Keeping Your Carved Pumpkins Fresh

While I personally think that moldy caved-in pumpkins add a bit of gore and spook to the Halloween holiday, I realize most people do not share that opinion.  While getting a carved pumpkin to last 2 days is a piece of cake {or pumpkin pie, rather}, getting it to last any longer requires a little bit of effort.  And who doesn’t want to show off their pumpkin carving prowess for a full week before Halloween?  It’s important stuff.

So, how do you get that Jack-o-Lantern to cooperate with you and not Mother Nature’s grand design of decomposition?  You follow these easy tips…

1. Start with clean hands.  Bacteria speeds up decomposition, so unless you are going for a compost themed carving, wash up. {Hand sanitizer will do the trick too.}
2. Wash the outside of your pumpkin with a diluted bleach solution.  That will eliminate any lurking bacteria on the pumpkin.
3. Once you have removed the seeds and innards, you can soak the whole pumpkin in a diluted bleach solution.
4. If your days are still hot, you’ll want to stash your carved pumpkin in the garage, basement, or even fridge to preserve it.
5. On the flip side, if you nights are really cold, you may want to bring it in.  Frostbite does not look great on a pumpkin.
6. Try to keep moisture off of your pumpkin.  If it rains, or snows {gasp!} you’ll want to towel him off regularly so he’ll make it to the big show.

In the end, you are really just delaying the inevitable, but if it buys you a week, then it’s totally worth it.

Happy Carving,

Mavis

Oh, and make sure not to toss out those seeds, this is that glorious time of year for roasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed brittle.  Yum-O!