# Pumpkins



## halloweengirl (Aug 23, 2006)

Im not sure If this is the right place for this topic.I apologize ahead of time If its in the wrong spot.But I was wodering how long an uncarved pumpkin can usually last.Our local pumpkin farm opens for picking and hayrides this sunday.Since we will have family in town this weekend,I thought this would be a fun activity.But I would hate to buy them now and have them go bad before its time to carve them for halloween.Is it to early to get them?


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

I think you're ok, kept cool but not frozen.


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## Rocky (May 4, 2004)

^ Exactly. It's not too early but store them in a cool place.


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## halloweengirl (Aug 23, 2006)

Is inside the house cool enough or would I have to refrigerate them? I keep the temp in the house usually about 68 degrees.


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## ScareFX (Aug 18, 2004)

I usually buy them when I first see them just so I get the good ones.  

I keep them in the house or garage (out of the direct sun). I've only had one go bad in the past four or five years. I think that was because the stem was still real green and some insect critter bored into it which allowed the decomposition process to start. 

Bottom line...pumpkins keep well. Uncarved and in your house should be fine, I would think.


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## otherworldly (Jul 25, 2006)

Guess I should pick mine...tuck them away someplace out of the sun.


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

I guess it depends on where you live. I've had several go bad. But it is still in the 80's. I usally wait til closer to the end of Oct. The selection isn't as good but I hate to spend money only to throw it out two weeks later.


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## KryptKittie69 (Sep 27, 2006)

I always end up carving my pumpkins too early and by Halloween they look like this!!!


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## THeme ssaGE (Jul 16, 2006)

oh wow thats funny.


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## DeadSpider (Feb 3, 2006)

you can carve them early, well not TOO early, and submerse them in a rubbermaid bin or something, with a half cap of bleach added to keep bacteria from forming, and store someplace cool. 

Thats what we do, starting a week prior to using, as we are just too dang busy to carve pumpkins on halloween or the night before.

Always buy pumpkins with strong green stems.


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## grapegrl (Jan 3, 2006)

KryptKittie69 said:


> I always end up carving my pumpkins too early and by Halloween they look like this!!!


That animation strikes me as particularly hilarious this afternoon for some reason! :jol:

BTW, halloweengirl, I usually start buying my pumpkins right around the first of October and even here in Florida where it's still hot and muggy off and on during October, they are fine as long as I don't put them where they will be right out in the sun. You've gotten some good advice so far...pick a good pumpkin to start with and keep it somewhere cool.


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## KryptKittie69 (Sep 27, 2006)

Glad you liked it! It's from a website that I use all the time.
Any image you need, they probably have it.
We use it at work all the time to add some spice to boring emails.

http://www.fotosearch.com/video-footage/pumpkins.html


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## KryptKittie69 (Sep 27, 2006)

oooooh creeeepy!


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## halloweengirl (Aug 23, 2006)

Thanks everyone...Pumpkin picking we shall go


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## HibLaGrande (Sep 25, 2005)

got two today.


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## NickG (Sep 12, 2006)

we went on a pumpkin hunt today... disappointing results.

first we went to a very large farm-owned pumpkin patch and they had ~18" pumpkins for $8, ~12" pumpkins for $5 and smaller ones for $3-$1. I didn't have enough cash to get many of the "large" ones and I wasn't impressed with what they had...then we went to a local supermarket who had ~12" ones for $5. not very impressive... walmart was about the same thing, $4 I think. local farm stand had some for a bit more than everyone else, and they were smaller. I tried the farm/feed store but they didn't have any. Tried a local small pumpkin patch and they were closed but it looks like all they had were "medium ones"

So... looks like we'll pick up some from walmart or something. I might hunt around a bit more... but it doesn't look like I can get any really big ones without driving an hour away to clarksville. at my parents house we used to be able to get ~24" ones pretty much everywhere, but that's 1200 miles away.


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## Black Cat (Aug 20, 2005)

Another rough year for pumpkins in NJ. Stopped at a couple of our local garden centers and all the pumpkins are only about 6-8 inches. A few of the larger ones where all miss shapen. I did pick up a 14 inch one at the A&P for $3.99. The problem with the grocery store pumpkins is they are usually cheaper but have no stems. Still need to find a few more bigger ones for the haunt this year. My Dad grew pumpkins this year by mistake and all his are on the smaller size except for one which is still green and on the vine yet.


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## dragon flame (Aug 31, 2006)

I could look at a farm near my house in new jersey and tell you if they have any good ones.


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## NickG (Sep 12, 2006)

wife came home from the local grocery store with 4 nice sized pumpkins for 3.99 each... they had just gotten in a new batch. I went back and got 6 more. I was there about 30min... took almost every one of them out of the pallet box and picked my favorites.*score*


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

Black cat-how did your dad grow pumpkins by mistake?


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## shaunathan (Sep 18, 2005)

probably grabed the wrong seed packet by mistake, about 8 years ago, maybe still today, all of the seeds Burpee made came in the EXACT SAME LOOKING PACKET and you had to read, which isn't too much trouble, but if they've been sitting in a shed in the back for a while, they can be very hard to read :/ he probably just grabed the wrong packet.


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## Black Cat (Aug 20, 2005)

Scareme, my Dad is mister gardener. He has a huge compost heap where he tosses all his vegetative waste. In the spring a ton of what he thought was acorn squash popped up in the heap. He planted about 25 of the seedlings only to find out they where pumpkins and not his beloved acorn squash. He managed to grow about 6 of the 6-7 inch pumpkins and the big one this year for him is maybe 14 inches. Not bad since he didn't intend to grow pumpkins this year.


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## KryptKittie69 (Sep 27, 2006)

*Pumpkin ROT*

Found this on Yahoo news. Bad news:

Halloween lovers hoping to create the perfect jack-o-lantern might want to shop carefully this year because of a pumpkin fungus that has put a dent in some crops.

Two types of fungus or rot have affected crops from the Midwest to New England, causing pumpkins to develop mold in some spots and then begin decomposing, said Daniel Egel, a Purdue University Extension plant pathologist. The entire inside of the pumpkin eventually rots until the shell falls apart.

A combination of high temperatures and record rain in August has helped the fungi flourish, Egel said.

Nina Kent, co-owner of Kent's Cucurbits in White County, said one variety of her pumpkins has about 85 percent loss because of the rot.

"We really didn't know until we went out and started picking around the 17th of September," she said. "It's as if they're rotting from the inside out."

The rot has also hit Purdue University's Meigs Farm in Lafayette. Karen Rane, a plant disease diagnostician, turned over a pumpkin and the underside collapsed in her hands.

"It's sporadic across the state," she said.

The pumpkin problems may mean more shopping for Halloween lovers like Lafayette resident Dave Gray. Gray decorates his home each year and said he buys as many pumpkins as possible to create jack-o-lanterns.

"As a kid, I liked it better than Christmas because you get to dress up," Gray said.

At D&R Market in Lafayette, for example, jumbo pumpkins are not being sold this year. Tad Ritchie, a produce worker at the market, said the store had to stop selling the larger varieties because its supplier had none healthy enough to pick.

The market is selling normal size pumpkins, but Ritchie fears that supply could run out before Halloween.

"My grower told me he's only getting about a 40 percent yield," Ritchie said. "It'll be bad for anybody that doesn't get one by about the 15th of October."

Shoppers should look for bright orange pumpkins with strong, green stems, which indicate the fruit was picked recently while the vine was healthy, Egel said. Consumers should also check for moldy areas or soft spots, especially on the bottom of the pumpkins, he said. Pumpkins should be stored in dry, shady areas until carving.


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