Pumpkin when is it ready

Multiple bee visits to a flower are needed in order to transfer enough pollen for fruit set, so make sure you have plants that attract pollinators close by. Then, watch for the leaves to start dying back and browning. First, make sure you wear garden gloves when picking because the vines are super prickly!

You don't want to twist the pumpkin off the vine. Carry it by the bottom, not the stem, so it won't break. Then rinse your pumpkin and keep it out of direct sunlight. If you like, a mild bleach wash also may help prolong its lifespan. Ree's Life. Food and Cooking.

The Pioneer Woman Products. Type keyword s to search. Also, you can tell a pumpkin is ripe if you hear a hollow sound when you thump on it. Pumpkins are usually ready to harvest by mid-fall and you definitely want to bring them in before the first frost or when night temperatures are expected to drop down into the 40s for an extended period of time. When harvesting, use a sharp knife to cut the pumpkin from the vine, leaving about 2 inches of stem. Handle carefully to avoid any nicks or bruises that will accelerate decay.

You can increase the shelf life by curing your pumpkins before storing them. The procedure is simple. Gently clean the pumpkins by brushing off any excess dirt and then place them in an area with a temperature of about 80 to 85 degrees F with 75 to 80 percent relative humidity for 7 to 10 days.

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. An important thing to do is keep tabs on how long your plant has been growing and compare it to the days-to-maturity section on your seed packet. I recommend using a gardening journal to keep this information organized. In most cases, if you sow seeds in late April or early May, your squash will ripen sometime between late August and late October.

But instead of using this timeframe as a hard and fast rule, just start keeping your eye out for signs of readiness once mid-August hits. If this happens, you can still ripen the fruit off the vine. Read our guide to ripening green pumpkins for more info. But as a general rule, color is a good indicator that a gourd is ready for picking. Along with color, one of the most important indicators of squash maturity is the shell, which should be hard and firm if you aim to keep a pumpkin around for a few months.

If the stem of your gourd feels hard to the touch, as opposed to being slightly spongy, check the color. Is it starting to dry out and turn brown?

You can actually allow the entire vine to die around your squash before you pick it — this will happen after the first light frost.