5 Tips From A Farmer On Harvesting Pumpkins
Hi there!
I wanted to share 5 tips for harvesting pumpkins, from your garden or our farm, to help you make the most of your pumpkin harvesting experience and enjoyment! These are all great tips and teaching moments to share with kids as well. Sharing these tips might seem 'small' but can really be a huge step in connecting kids to the amazing world of agriculture.
1. Watch your step! Pumpkins like to hide under leaves, vines and weeds. Step carefully to avoid damaging hiding pumpkins. When you walk slowly and with care, you might just see the pumpkin you've been searching for!
2. Handle pumpkins with care! Pumpkins do not like to be scratched, dropped or handled roughly. Handling them gently not only keeps them looking great, but helps them last longer too.
3. Carry like a baby! Or in other words, do not pick a pumpkin up by the stem. The stem of a pumpkin is vital to the growth of the pumpkin over the summer, and vital to the pumpkin lasting long in the fall. However, as pumpkins mature it can become easy to pull or knock the stem off if you try to lift by the stem. If the stem comes off it can damage the pumpkin and can shorten the life of the pumpkin. Instead, use two hands to 'cradle' the pumpkin like a baby.
4. Let them cure! To help pumpkins last as long as possible it is important to allow them to go through a process of curing. This is done after the pumpkin is removed from the vine. Allow the pumpkins to sit in a dry sunny spot for 7-14 days. During this time the skin hardens, a bunch of really scientific things happen inside the pumpkin flesh and and accidental scrapes on the skin will heal over. You can then use your pumpkin for decorating and all types of fun crafts. (Depending on your goals with your pumpkins, you may be able to skip this step, i.e. if you are carving your pumpkins right away).
5. Enjoy them! Most of all, enjoy your pumpkins. Let pumpkins shine in their season of fall in whatever form it may be, 15 minutes of extreme joy when your kids cut them to pieces 'carving' them, or daily enjoyment when you see them on your front porch. Both are totally worth it. And it is important to remember pumpkins are perishable and no amount of preserving will make them last forever. Sad as this may be, there is great value in seasonal enjoyment of real agricultural products. It reminds us to enjoy things while we can. It reminds us seasons change and that mixed emotions about that change is natural and good for us. And it makes us all the more excited to harvest pumpkins again next year!
So whatever your pumpkin adventures look like this year, we hope these 5 tips will help improve your experience and help you teach a young person in your life!
Thank you and God bless!
Abbie, Steve, and Family
