Pumpkin question!!

[cherishedtiger]

So I went out to check the status of my garden and my pumpkins have puzzled me... they are as ready as I can tell to be harvested. Nice orange, as big as they are going to get, stem is starting to brown. Perfect right? I don't think we have had a frost yet, as we have been almost 100 for the past week.
Well I figured I would harvest them tonight as the weather cooled.

Then to my surprise I noticed a vine that was quite happy where it was, had suddenly (and I am guessing in the past week while I was gone) grew another 6 feet and there is a decent size green pumpkin on it! Its about the same size as the rest but still green as can be!
Do I just harvest the rest and leave this little guy and the rest of the plant to see what it does? I was going to harvest and pull the vines and toss in the compost bin, but guessing that would be a bad idea!
Thanks!!!

[SPierce]

If the pumpkin is happy, halloween is a month or so away. Leave it be and see what happens ;D

[cherishedtiger]

Okie dokie! Guess I just had to hear it from someone else!

I am more or less just in shock that all of a sudden it got all this new growth and its almost like a second wind for a pumpkin!

[lily51]

We had a rogue pumpkin vine growing back by the field, so let it go and it now has 8 pumpkins, some orange, some green. And due to the crazy weather this year, the vine is still growing, but it won't produce anything else here in Ohio. Once we get a good frost it will be done. May start collecting the orange pumpkins in a week anyhow for decoration..wash with a very mild bleach solution to help delay mildew and rot.
Good luck! They're a fun plant.

[cherishedtiger]

OH thanks for the advice on washing them. I rinsed them but didnt use anything but water... I just have to find some place to store them now. No basement so they are taking up counter space at the moment...

[garden5]

I never knew about washing it with the bleach solution. I'll have to try that...(a rotten pumpkin is not a very good thing).

[lily51]

I only wash the pumpkins that are decorative and/or jack-o-lantern material. don't know if i'd do it to eating pumpkins.

[cherishedtiger]

Well I went out, picked them and got 7 cute little pumpkins. However 2 of them I noticed had little holes on the side that was to the ground.
Took one, cut it up and the holes don't go very far into the skin, so I am thinking the meat should still be useable. Thoughts?

[jal_ut]

I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

[CreateYourGoodLife]

I'd be quite happy to use the pumpkin too. I would use them first though. Breaks in the skin will mean that they won't keep any where near as long.

[cherishedtiger]

Sounds like I am baking something!! Thank goodness the weather has cooled and I can use my oven without overworking the A/C!