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Summary
sleep together how to prevent your autumn pumpkin from moulder is crucial whether you ’re growing pie pumpkins for feeding , laborer - o'-lantern pumpkins for Halloween , or just looking to arise the biggest pumpkin your town has ever take care !
Harvested pumpkins can last up to two to three months when stored in a nerveless , dark spot or up to a month at room temperature . However , carved jack - o'-lanterns will only last three day ! Discover ten tips on how to keep your pumpkin from rotting while it ’s still on the vine , after harvest , and in the day leading up to Halloween when you ’ve carved it .
How to Stop Pumpkins From Rotting on the Vine
Cucurbita pepo rot does n’t only happen after you ’ve chip at your pumpkin vine ! break three tips to foreclose your pumpkin from rotting while it ’s still on the vine .
Use Mulch
Using mulchwhile grow your pumpkin helps foreclose molder in a few ways . For fledgeling , mulch helps retain body of water , ensuring your Cucurbita pepo gets aninch of watera week throughout the growing time of year . If your pumpkins do n’t get an inch of water a calendar week , the flowers and yield may fall off the vine , and you may not get asmany autumn pumpkin . When tearing , disease tarry in the soil can spray upwards and land on your plant life . Mulch prevents thisby provide a barrier between your pumpkin vine and the soil .
Elevate the Growing Pumpkins
Once the pumpkin are established , keeping them away from the dirt is essential . lift your pumpkins using a large flat rock , a objet d’art of wood , or some plastic mesh keeps air flow moving around the yield . Airflow reduces the likelihood of mold and fungus , which helps eliminate some common causa of Cucurbita pepo rot .
Prune The Vines
Another way to help improve air circulation around your plants is bypruning your pumpkin vine . After 100 days , the vine should be ripe enough to begin rationalise . Trim the chief vine so it stay on within 10 to 15 feet . you could trim the secondary vine that germinate away from the main vine to between 8 and 10 feet .
Trimming the vine decreases the foliage and yield contend for space in the garden , allowing more zephyr to circulate around the plant . When determining if the plant is fledged enough to prune , look for enceinte leaf , fruit ontogenesis , and a main vine 10 to 15 feet foresighted .
How to Stop Pumpkins From Rotting After the Harvest
After you’veharvested your pumpkins , it ’s important to cure them , keep them at the right temperature , and make the outside to stop over them from rotting before you could habituate them .
Cure Your Pumpkins
Curing is a cognitive operation that removes any excess water , hardening the cutis of your pumpkin and reducing the chances of moisture and rot . It extends the shelf life sentence of your pumpkin vine , so they can last two to three month without rotting . Proper curing start in the garden using a sharp knife — not your hand — to slice the pumpkin vine stem away from the vine . Cut your theme so it ’s 4 in long , and carry it to a gay location .
Allow the pumpkin to ride in a cheery location that ’s 80 to 85 academic degree Fahrenheit for at least two weeks . If you plan to stash away your pumpkin vine for a few months , continue curing by flipping the autumn pumpkin upside down — break the underside to the air and sunlight — for another two weeks . Ideally , you should cure your pumpkins in an surroundings with 80 to 85 percent humidity .
Never carry your pumpkin by the prow ! Although pumpkin vine stem might seem tough , they ’re very fragile , and you could damage them easily . Pumpkin stems are important because they uphold to fee your pumpkin vital food after you ’ve harvested it . or else , use your hand to peck up the pumpkin from the radix whenever you require to move it .
Keep Them at the Proper Temperature
autumn pumpkin sustain in too cool or tender an environment have a greater risk of moulder . To prevent rot , avoid immobilise temperatures and keep your pumpkins in a 50 to 55 level Fahrenheit fix with a 50 to 70 percent humidity . Cold cellars and dry basement room work well for storing pumpkins . If you ’re keeping your pumpkin at room temperature , this will diminish its storage lifespan to one month .
Prepare the Outside
After your pumpkin vine have cured , sweep off any loose dirt . Give your pumpkins a good cleanup with avinegar and watersolution to down off any fungal spores and bacterium on the outside of your pumpkin vine . Mix one part acetum with one part water to make your cleansing root . Once your pumpkin is light , practice a soft textile to pass over on a thin layer of olive petroleum . This will help to waterproof your autumn pumpkin , preventing moisture from getting in so it does n’t rot .
How to Stop Pumpkins From Rotting After Carving
autumn pumpkin will last from three day to a calendar week once you ’ve disregard them exposed . Carve them as close to Halloween as possible to forestall rotting . Discover four more point for extending the life of your carved Halloween pumpkin .
Cut the Bottom, Not the Top
Traditionally , you slit by the top of the pumpkin to give you access to the interior so you’re able to houseclean out the seeds . To forestall your pumpkin from rotting , flip it upside down and disregard a lap in the bottom instead . This leaves the stem attached and provide the moisture in the pumpkin to escape into the ground rather of accumulating at the bottom . As a fillip , this also makes for easier wax light light since you could just set your cleaned Cucurbita pepo over the wax light instead of get down the candle into the pumpkin .
Clean Your Pumpkin Well
Cleaning your pumpkin inside and out can get rid of a lot of the fungal spore and bacteria that can pass to rot . Remove as many of the ejaculate and fibrous strands as you’re able to . The cleaner you’re able to get your Cucurbita pepo , the slower it will decay and rot .
Use LED Lights
While the flickering flame of a candle is pretty , it ’s a fire hazard and can lessen the life of your carve pumpkin . Although the flame may be tiny , it will call down the temperature of the interior pumpkin high enough that it effectively cooks the pumpkin vine . go candles can give you the same effect without causing your pumpkin to wear out down and rot .
Use Petroleum Jelly
After you ’ve clean and cut up your Cucurbita pepo , you’re able to wipe all the exposed edges and the inside with petroleum jelly . This app creates a barrier between the expose pumpkin physique and the outside world . Air exposure and moisture booster cable to rot , so the petroleum jelly barrier will slow down down the decay of your pumpkin vine .
crude jelly is extremely inflammable . If you apply crude oil gelatin on your pumpkin vine , you must use LED lights alternatively of real standard candle ! Open flames and petroleum jelly are a major flame fortune when ruffle .
Prevent Bone-Chilling Pumpkin Rot Today!
Pumpkins are a with child addition to any garden and can last a long time when stored properly as long as bunkum does n’t get to them first . Keep your growing Cucurbita pepo elevated , and use mulch to facilitate them last on the vine . Clean , cure , and properly store your pumpkin vine in a coolheaded , dry room so they last month after harvest . When it ’s meter to carve them for Halloween , clean them well , consider using flame - less candles , and try coating the exposed parts in petroleum jelly .
