![]() ![]() For this reason, I recommend keeping your pumpkins on a covered porch or displaying them from indoors in a window. Rain falling on your jack-o’-lantern will invite every mold in the neighborhood to take up residency in or on it. October is a wet month with frequent rains in many parts of the U.S. ![]() Notice the tiny green colonies inside the carved mouth and on the back wall of the pumpkin. Matt Kasson, CC BY-SA This involves shaping the pumpkin’s surface as you would carve a piece of wood, without breaking through the shell, and can produce dramatic results.įilamentous fungi like Penicillium are common in many environments, and can even colonize a freshly bleached jack-o’-lantern like the one shown here. A toothless jack-o’-lantern scares no one.Īnother advantage of maintaining thicker walls is that it enables you to try a 3D carving. But if you make the walls too thin, your jack-o’-lantern’s fangs will become inward-curving skin tabs as the pulp desiccates and deforms. Some online tutorials and YouTube videos recommend thinning out pumpkins’ walls to better allow candle or LED light to pass through. As soft rot advances in diseased squash, the water-soaked appearance expands and eventually pulp becomes watery like cooked pumpkin pie. Matt Kasson, CC BY-SA You can also paint your pumpkins instead of carving them, which averts the need to peer inside. If you find these issues as you carve, you may want to try carving another pumpkin. Diseased pumpkins sometimes produce an off-putting smell, so use your nose as well. As you scoop out the pumpkin’s innards, thoroughly inspect the inside walls for soft rotten patches or dark tissues, which may have been colonized pre- or post-harvest by bacteria, fungi or water molds. Much of the work of carving a pumpkin involves separating the fibrous strands and seeds inside it from the harder pulp that makes up the pumpkin’s walls. Hollow pumpkins out thoroughly, but don’t overdo it Microbes can reside and multiply on small amounts of pumpkin debris stuck in the teeth of dirty carving knives.Įven if you are not carving your pumpkin, wiping it down isn’t a bad idea, since it may have small bruises or cracks that are easy to overlook. This is especially important if you plan to carve them: Piercing the dirty rind with a sharp tool will introduce these eager visitors deeper into the heart of your pumpkin. To get rid of them, wipe down your pumpkins, preferably with a bleach wipe or two. Removing these organisms, and any eggs they may have affixed to your pumpkin’s rind, will help preserve it. Pumpkins spend most of their lives in fields, developing on top of soil that teems with fungi, bacteria, water molds and soil-dwelling animals like nematodes, insects and mites. ![]() Once home, don’t carry your pumpkin by the stem, which can lead to breakage, especially if it is big and heavy. My family often uses seat belts to protect ours. Secure your pumpkins en route to your house so they don’t suffer bruising or stem breakage. Some of those microbes could colonize your unsuspecting pumpkins. Most of us transport pets, kids, muddy hiking boots and food in our cars, which makes our vehicles giant petri dishes harboring common environmental molds and bacteria. Keeping the rind defect-free and stem intact ensures your prized pumpkin a longer shelf life. A bruise or crack will allow opportunistic fungi, bacteria, water molds and small insects to invade and colonize your pumpkins. Post-harvest diseases – those that occur after the pumpkin is removed from the vine – can happen anywhere between the field where they were grown and your front step. Is the stem loose? Is there a clear break in the rind? Are there any water-soaked spots on the exterior? Whether you plan to carve them or not, choose pumpkins that are not damaged, dented or diseased. This may seem obvious, but shop for a pumpkin in the same way that you shop the produce aisle. The round ball-like structures forming inside the eye socket are fungus. Matt Kasson, CC BY-SA Pick a healthy pumpkin and transport it carefully This jack-o’-lantern carved from a pumpkin with a preexisting fungal disease, southern blight, is showing symptoms of soft rot, especially around the nose and eye. Here are some tips that can help your epic carving outlast the Day of the Dead. Fall fun: A guide for pumpkin picking in NY, NJĪs a plant pathologist, gardener and self-described pumpkin fanatic, I have both boldly succeeded and miserably failed at growing, properly carving and keeping these iconic winter squash in their prime through the end of October. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |