Protect my pumpkin?

[BirdLover82]

With Halloween on the horizon, how can I make sure my pumpkin lasts longer? I always find it goes mouldy very quickly after carving, can I prevent this?

[applestar]

I don't carve my pumpkins until no closer than three days before Halloween, depending on the weather.

I DID hear or read once about someone liberally spraying Lysol inside and out to keep them from molding and rotting-- but I WOULD NOT recommend that.

Why not get the fake carvable pumpkins from the craft store if you want to keep them longer?

I haven't ventured into decorative carvings. I enjoy the simple Jack-o-lanterns and REAL tea light candles so the scorching pumpkins make the porch smell like pumpkin pie -- keeping an eye on the Jack-o-lanterns and the door for the trick or treaters is just part of the Halloween tradition.

[rainbowgardener]

Here's someone who actually tested various methods of jack-o-lantern preservation:

http://www.myscienceproject.org/pumpkin.html

The ones that worked best were wiping all the cut surfaces (inside and out) with bleach or spraying it with a commercial preservative, Pumpkin Fresh. In both cases, they suggest inverting the pumpkins after treating them and letting them dry.

It sounds like even with diligent treating, two weeks is the most you can get from a carved pumpkin. And of course, if you treat it like this, then you aren't going to eat your pumpkin.

[jal_ut]

Eat a pumpkin? Awful. If you want to eat squash get a hubbard or banana. Pumpkins are for decorations. You can always make paper eyes, nose mouth etc. and paste them to the pumpkin, instead of carving it.

[rainbowgardener]

or just paint them:


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/23 ... 80a468.jpg

http://halloweenimages2k15.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Painted-Pumpkins-For-Halloween2.jpg

but the painted or pasted on pumpkins can't have a candle shining out from inside them. I do like that tradition.

Pumpkin pie is made from pumpkins, although it can also be made from sweet potato, squash, etc.