Preserving Pumpkin

[NH Homesteader]

Oh I so need to make that! Yum!

 

[lcertuche]

I've tried keeping them before but they get brown spots and spoil within the month. I think if you grew them at home and handled them gently they would last but not from the store. It doesn't help my kids think they are toys to be rolled across the floor, lol. I would rather hold them over but have very little luck doing it. I want to try growing some next year and see if it works out better.

 

[lcertuche]

Well I just went to get my last pumpkin out of the garage and it was almost rotting. I was not happy but that is why I preserve them somehow. They just don't hold up after being tossed around at the store or truck, or wherever. I wasted a $1 but it could have been more. They were originally priced at $5 a pumpkin.

 

[tortoise]

Well I just went to get my last pumpkin out of the garage and it was almost rotting. I was not happy but that is why I preserve them somehow. They just don't hold up after being tossed around at the store or truck, or wherever. I wasted a $1 but it could have been more. They were originally priced at $5 a pumpkin.

How frustrating! I did pull a rotty butternut squash out of the basement last week, so my storage isn't perfect.

Are you able to grow your own pumpkins next year to choose a variety which might keep better and not have them get tossed around and damaged?

 

[lcertuche]

I'm hoping to try and grow some if I can keep the deer and rabbits out of them. I know they would probably last for a couple months if I grew them myself. I did grow some yellow summer squash this year and it grew very well. That and peppers did best and a few eggplant. Everything else was very poor and some of it like my tomato plants got ate. I'm hoping to fence off the garden and let the chickens run in there this winter. Let them fertilize, weed and aerate the soil.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh cool! So glad that worked out so well - and it's a great idea!

 

[Britesea]

I prefer winter squash over pumpkin. I dehydrated a little last fall also, but I hadn't done anything with it yet. It's good to hear that it rehydrates that well.

 

[lcertuche]

@Britesea I'm sure squash will work great.

 

[lcertuche]

I've never planted pumpkins but I have done well with butternut squash. Much bigger than the ones in the store. Any squash or pumpkin probably will last much longer than the ones in the grocery store. They have been jostled around too much.