Pumpkins are ready for harvest 75 to 115 days from sowing depending on the variety. Pumpkins can be left on the vine until the principle frost in autumn is as regards to. Cut back pumpkins from the vine two weeks previous than the principle frost and make allowance them to treatment inside the sun.
When to Harvest Pumpkins
- Harvest pumpkins when they are completely colored and the rinds are laborious.
- The color of a mature pumpkin can vary in keeping with variety; mature colour can be orange, white, gray, or blue-gray.
- A mature pumpkin may have a hard, shiny shell that is not merely dented or punctured thru a fingernail. The stem of a mature pumpkin can also be laborious and reduced in size. Pumpkins will rot if harvested too more youthful.
- Harvest pumpkins previous than the principle laborious frost. Do not pass away pumpkins inside the garden if the weather turns cold and rainy or if a freeze is anticipated.
- If pumpkins can’t be harvested previous than cold and rainy local weather comes, put hay or straw underneath them to prevent rot led to thru contact with damp soil. (Earlier inside the season, since the fruit is ripening, you’ll be able to place a piece of wood or tile or a piece of cardboard or folded newspaper beneath pumpkins to prevent contact with soil and rot.)
Recommendations on the way to Harvest Pumpkins
- Cut back pumpkins from the vine with a sharp knife or garden lopper. Leave 3 to 6 inches of stem attached to the fruit. The attached stem will give protection to the fruit from sickness and insect attacks.
- Pumpkin vines can be prickly, so give protection to your pores and pores and skin thru wearing gloves and long sleeves when harvesting.
- Care for pumpkins with care to steer clear of nicking or bruising the outdoor.
- Elevate and raise pumpkins thru slipping your hand underneath the bottom of the fruit. Do not raise or elevate a pumpkin in the course of the stem; a heavy pumpkin can detach from the stem, fall, and crack or break. Stemless pumpkins do not store well.
Recommendations on the way to Treatment and Store Pumpkins
- Clean harvested pumpkins with soapy water to remove soil and kill pathogens on the ground of the fruit; use one segment chlorine bleach to ten parts water. Dry the fruit after washing and place the fruit in a dry place to treatment.
- Treatment pumpkins thru setting them in a warmth place–80-85°F (26-29°C) and 80 to 85 % relative humidity—for 10 days to two weeks. Curing will harden the outdoor, heal wounds, ripen immature fruit, and, importantly, enhance style.
- If frost or cold nights are predicted, quilt curing pumpkins with old-fashioned blankets or switch them proper right into a shed or garage.
- Store cured pumpkins at about 50°F (10°C) with about 60 % humidity, a shed or garage will do. Cool and dry are the best storage must haves for pumpkins. Pumpkins exposed to temperatures beneath 45°F (7°C) will soften and rot.
- Cured pumpkins will keep for 2 to a couple of months. Store the pumpkins so that they do not touch.
Further pointers: Recommendations on the way to Broaden Pumpkins.
