Pumpkins

[Wormius]

Is there nothing better to grow than pumpkins at that time? They seem to take up a lot of garden space for something that is typically tossed after Hallowe'en. Yeah, I know some people actually do use the pumpkins for food, but judging by what a lot of people do, not so much.



I would be interested in whether one of the creative woodworking guys here like surferguy could do with some driftwood in making a jack-o-lantern.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

my wife had been looking for pumpkins here in kelowna and was talking to a lady that works at superstore and the employee told her that lots of pumpkins were going bad early - so it's not just a calgary thing.


i think she ended up finding a couple at save-on.

I find that's been happening the last several years. got my pumpkins early October and had to really wade through the bins to get decent ones. lots of pumpkin rot.

[username]

Originally Posted by jtfrogger

This year, we were on the ball and picked up three pumpkins a week and a half ago. Ha ha, silly 2018 jtfrogger, 2019 jtfrogger has you beat. They were a little soft and would not last long indoors, so we put them on the patio to keep them from rotting before we can carve them.

I know way too much about caring for pumpkins, but either way here you go:

1. When buying a pumpkin, knock on it as if you're knocking on a door. It should be quite solid and sound like you're knocking on a board. Any soft spots, or a muffled sound when knocking, likely means the pumpkin is going or is already bad.

2. When you bring it home, it must be kept at temperatures above zero. I put my out during the day (assuming plus temperatures) and then bring them in every night. If kept inside, they will last. In fact, pumpkins, if property stored, can last up to 3 months. I bought 4 back in September and they are still perfect.

3. When you put your pumpkins out, make sure they are not sitting directly on concrete. Put some cardboard between the pumpkin and your concrete patio. The concrete will absorb the water in the pumpkin and dry it out.

4. Once you carve them, they will only last around 3 days. So don't be carving them a week in advance of Halloween thinking they will still be good.

[DoubleF]

I bought a small pumpkin in the middle of October thinking I was clever. It was rotten a week later.

I saw a ginormous butternut squash today that looked like it would be a bad ass looking lantern. But at $2 a pound, I think that thing would have been like $14-16. Knowing butternut squashes, I wonder if that thing would probably still be looking solid well into December.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I bought a small pumpkin in the middle of October thinking I was clever. It was rotten a week later.

I saw a ginormous butternut squash today that looked like it would be a bad ass looking lantern. But at $2 a pound, I think that thing would have been like $14-16. Knowing butternut squashes, I wonder if that thing would probably still be looking solid well into December.

You had to buy pumpkins in September for them to last, which is when I bought mine and had no problem with spoilage.

We had a couple of snowstorms late Sept and early Oct and if stores left their pumpkins outside, they would have been subject to frost and then of course, spoilage. Also, if some were picked late, after some snow storms, the same thing could have happened.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by troutman

Maybe if some families didn't buy 10-12 pumpkins each, there would be a few left for the rest of us.

A silly question, why would anyone buy 10-12 pumpkins each? The most I've bought is 2.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by username

I know way too much about caring for pumpkins, but either way here you go:

1. When buying a pumpkin, knock on it as if you're knocking on a door. It should be quite solid and sound like you're knocking on a board. Any soft spots, or a muffled sound when knocking, likely means the pumpkin is going or is already bad.

2. When you bring it home, it must be kept at temperatures above zero. I put my out during the day (assuming plus temperatures) and then bring them in every night. If kept inside, they will last. In fact, pumpkins, if property stored, can last up to 3 months. I bought 4 back in September and they are still perfect.

3. When you put your pumpkins out, make sure they are not sitting directly on concrete. Put some cardboard between the pumpkin and your concrete patio. The concrete will absorb the water in the pumpkin and dry it out.

4. Once you carve them, they will only last around 3 days. So don't be carving them a week in advance of Halloween thinking they will still be good.

That seems like a lot of work.

We bought pumpkins on friday, carved them sunday, and they have been sitting on the front step since. No issues.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

A silly question, why would anyone buy 10-12 pumpkins each? The most I've bought is 2.

Keeping Up With The Joneses Massive Halloween Displays

[calf]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

A silly question, why would anyone buy 10-12 pumpkins each? The most I've bought is 2.

Sell them on kijiji for a profit

[redforever]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

A silly question, why would anyone buy 10-12 pumpkins each? The most I've bought is 2.

I buy more than one pumpkin, especially when Superstore has them on for $1.97 each, no matter the size.

I like to carve more than one and put them in various places in my front yard. Once Halloween is over, I cut them up, bake them, puree the flesh, and then use the puree in baking, soups, breads and the like.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Weitz

That seems like a lot of work.

We bought pumpkins on friday, carved them sunday, and they have been sitting on the front step since. No issues.

They didn't freeze solid Monday night and turn to mush? That sound sounds unlikely...

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

They didn't freeze solid Monday night and turn to mush? That sound sounds unlikely...

They don't turn to mush unless the temperature gets warm enough for them to thaw. Mine is on my front porch as well, frozen solid.

[Fuzz]

That's some scientific reasoning I can follow.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

They didn't freeze solid Monday night and turn to mush? That sound sounds unlikely...

Maybe? They still look fine. Haven't touched em.

[Torture]

How about a Turnip-o-lantern? This thing's terrifying.


Can't get embedding to work...here's a link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-o...m_a_turnip.jpg

[Fuzz]

Here ya go.

[surferguy]

Seems like something I should be praying towards while I throw a virgin in a volcano.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Here ya go.

Isn't that the same face most people make when confronted with the idea of eating a rutabaga?

Now that I think about it, telling someone, "I'm going to carve a rutabaga." sounds so much more nefarious than, "I'm going to carve a pumpkin/jack o lantern." It also seems so much more simple to carve out a cylindrical space into the rutabaga to insert the light than to make a freaking mess scraping out pumpkin seeds and pulp. I'm super tempted to try this!

[Fuzz]

My "I'm sorry sweetie, I can't tonight, I have a headache" pumpkin. Flashy red bike light inside.