5 Tips to Keep Pumpkins from Rotting

How Long Do Pumpkins Last?

• Before carving: Freshly harvested or store-bought pumpkins can last 1 month at room temperature and 2 to 3 months if stored in a cool, dark, dry place.
• After carving: Pumpkins only last 3 days to 1 week before rotting, depending on the weather conditions. Why? Pumpkins are 90% water!

5 Tips to Keep Your Pumpkin From Rotting

Here are some ideas to help keep your carved pumpkins last longer.

1. Before carving, choose a pumpkin with a solid stem and no soft spots on any side (be sure to check the opposite end from the stem!). Find a pumpkin from a farm or local nursery if possible, as it will be fresher than pumpkins trucked in from far away. Also, do NOT pick up a pumpkin by its stem, which can break easily; the stem continues to feed nutrients to the fruit after cutting it from the vine. 
2. Try a surface carving instead of hollowing out the pumpkin or cutting all the way through the rind. A jack-o’-lantern with more of a surface carving will last longer than one that is cut all the way through. Try just drawing your design first onto the pumpkin’s surface and then follow that line, carving beneath the line to dig out a feature. 
3. If you are hollowing out the pumpkin, do a very thorough cleaning of the pumpkin’s inside, removing not only the seeds, but also scraping out every strand of pumpkin flesh and gooey moistness to slow down microbial growth.
4. Don’t use real candles. As well as obvious safety concerns, burning a candle inside will shorten the pumpkin’s life span, as the heat that results can “cook” the pumpkin and reduce its longevity to a matter of hours. Try flameless LED candles instead.  
5. Keep the pumpkin cool when not on display if the temperature is still warm outside. Of course, in freezing weather, the pumpkin must be brought inside or it will disintegrate. 
6. BONUS: Paint your pumpkin instead of carving it, especially if you want to decorate the home or office earlier in the month.

4 Ways to Preserve a Carved Pumpkin

Another way to help carved pumpkins last longer is to preserve them. Here are suggestions from Almanac readers:

1. Coat the carved parts with Vaseline (petroleum jelly). WARNING: Do NOT use real candles alongside Vaseline, which is flammable.
2. After carving, wipe down all surfaces of the pumpkin with a vinegar-water solution (1 part vinegar to 1 part water) to kill bacteria and fungal spores. You can then spray the pumpkin daily with this solution. If you’re only going to apply one treatment, this is the one to choose!
3. Place a packet of silica gel inside the pumpkin to absorb moisture.
4. If your pumpkin is starting to degrade early on, try dumping it in an ice bath. However, you can only do this once. Pumpkins don’t respond well to too many temperature changes.

Bottom-line: we’d advise that you wait to carve your pumpkin as close to Halloween as possible!

Tips for Carving the Pumpkin

Since we’re talking about carved pumpkins, we thought it might also be helpful to share some pumpkin-carving tips from a master. “Farmer Mike” Valladao has been carving pumpkins ever since he saw a 612-pound pumpkin at a festival. Here are some great tips:

1. When carving out the top of the pumpkin, be sure to angle the blade of the knife toward the center of the pumpkin to create a shelf for the top to rest on; otherwise, the top will fall straight into the pumpkin.
2. You don’t have to carve out the top! You can hollow it out from a hole in the back instead of the top, so that the look of the face isn’t affected. (Do not use a live candle if you’re hollowing out a hole in the back.)
3. Outline your design or face on the surface first. Farmer Mike first draws a line down the center to establish symmetry. Then he sketches the nose, the approximate center of the face.
4. Don’t use a serrated blade! Use a paring knife or a standard steak knife that’s not going to bend. 
5. Use two hands at all times: one to control the blade and the other to control the pressure with which you cut (and thus the depth).

Try a three-dimensional face! 

For the more adventurous carver, try making a 3D pumpkin face. You will need more than a knife. It helps to have a clay loop tool, which you can buy at a crafts store.

Peel the pumpkin’s skin off where you want to carve a face. Peel off that surface just as you would peel a carrot. Then draw your design on the pumpkin. Follow the lines, carving beneath the line, digging out the feature. For example, cut a line for a mouth and carve below. Exaggerate the features. (If you aren’t sure what teeth really look like or how the gum line works, smile and look in the mirror.) Take care not to jab the blade into the pumpkin; you don’t want to cut all the way through the rind—except to determine its depth.

Not many can carve quite like Farmer Mike Valladao, who’s a seasoned pro, but we thought we’d share some of his amazing creations for inspiration! All photos taken by Susan Valladao.

Hope you have fun carving pumpkins this year? We sure did with our kids! 

Find more seasonal ideas on our Halloween page!