Are you looking for the Best Ways to Preserve Carved Pumpkins?
The experts at Eflorist have shared their top 5 natural solutions for preserving carved pumpkins for Halloween, as Britain is hit with a ‘pumpkin shortage’ due to wet weather and “army of slugs”.
Halloween might still be 10 days away, but Eflorist has already spotted a 313% rise* in the number of people searching for ways to preserve carved pumpkins – suggesting many Brits’ premature Jack-o’-lanterns might already be looking a bit worse for wear.
While pumpkins can last around 8 to 12 weeks after being picked, they can quickly begin to wilt and rot after carving: it’s generally recommended that you don’t carve your pumpkin until around 3-5 days before Halloween.
Best Ways to Preserve Carved Pumpkins
Here are 5 natural top tips for ensuring carved pumpkins last Halloween.
-
Make sure you pick the right pumpkin
The first step to ensuring your pumpkin will survive being carved into a Jack-o’-lantern is to make sure you purchase the right one.
Make sure it doesn’t have any gouges, scrapes, or obvious blemishes. If it does, it’s not likely to last very long. However, if your pumpkin has some green colouring to it, this means it’s still ripening, so it’ll be good to take home, and ripen there.
Similarly, you should check that your pumpkin isn’t too soft. To do this, flip the pumpkin upside down and apply pressure. If you feel it gives beneath your thumbs slightly, look for another one.
You’ll also want to sit your pumpkin down on a flat surface to make sure it sits flat for when you put the candle inside after carving.
-
Clean it with a white vinegar solution
When you first bring your pumpkin home, give it a good clean-down with a diluted vinegar solution. Vinegar is acidic, which makes it a natural preservative. It also has naturally antibacterial properties, so it will help to kill off any nasties before you begin carving.
To do this, simply combine 10 parts water with one part white vinegar, thoroughly mist the outside of the pumpkin, and allow it to air dry.
Once your pumpkin is carved, it’s a good idea to mix up a spray bottle with water and white vinegar and give the inside of your a daily spray with the solution. This will help to kill off any growing mould.
Keeping the inside of your carved pumpkin moist will also prevent it from collapsing.
-
Use essential oils to deter pests
Much like the human skin, the flesh of the pumpkin acts as a protective layer, so as soon as you start carving into the skin, decomposition speeds up, which can attract flies.
When carving your pumpkin, it’s important to get as much of the ‘guts’ out as possible. Anything left behind will attract additional pests.
While there’s no foolproof method for completely deterring pests from rotting food, using essential oils such as peppermint or lemon can keep them from doing damage to your carved pumpkin.
When spraying down the insides of your pumpkin with your white vinegar spray, consider adding a few drops of essential oils to the solution. Alternatively, you can add a couple of drops to the outside and inside of your pumpkin directly.
-
Keep it shaded from the elements
Most people will keep their carved pumpkins outside of the home, and while your pumpkin might look great lighting up the bottom of the front garden, leaving it exposed to the elements will speed up the decaying process.
Instead, you should place it in an as dry and shaded spot as possible – away from sun, wind, and rain. For the best results, keep it close to the front door in a covered spot.
If you don’t have a safe place to keep your pumpkin indoors, consider keeping it in a window so it’s still visible from outside.
-
Keep its features moisturised
To avoid your pumpkin becoming a Beetlejuice-esque shrunken head by day two, you’ll want to keep your pumpkin’s features moisturised.
To do this, apply some Vaseline – or similar – to the cut surfaces.
The Vaseline will act as a barrier, and keep moisture from leaving the flesh of the pumpkin.
However, when using Vaseline, or similar petroleum jelly-based products on your pumpkin, you should avoid using a real flame inside because it is flammable.
Instead, use a battery-powered, flameless tea light. Avoiding real flames will also help to stop your pumpkin from drying out further.
Further reading
You might also like to take a look at my post on Halloween activities for kids instead of trick or treating
and my recipe for pumpkin risotto
