Don't Let Your Pumpkin Turn Into Squash

(Image courtesy of bohnson00)

Halloween is almost here and that means it’s time to begin decorating! Whether you celebrate the holiday by hosting a party with friends or have decided to simply hand out candy to trick-or-treaters this year, there is no simpler way to make your apartment look festive than by carving a pumpkin. Unfortunately though, regardless of the design you choose, and where you decide to place your pumpkin, eventually the shape of your artwork will begin to deteriorate.

Though a decomposing pumpkin is an inevitability, there are a multitude of ways to keep your carved pumpkins from looking too scary too quickly. This article from botanicalinterests.com offers some great ideas to keep your jack-o-lanterns looking fresh after they’ve been sitting out for a few days. Keep reading to find out what they have to say:

Carved pumpkins look their best one to two days after carving, and rarely look good after seven days. So if you want your carved pumpkins to stay fresh until Halloween night, don't carve them until at least October 24th.

Before carving, wash your hands well with warm soap and water or a disinfecting hand sanitizer, and make sure your carving tools are clean to avoid transferring bacteria to the pumpkin. You may also want to wipe the outside of the pumpkin down with bleach before making the first cut.

Once carved, you can keep your pumpkin perky for up to a week by wiping the inside and cut areas with bleach, spraying with a household cleaning spray that includes bleach, or spraying with one of the pumpkin sprays available in craft or party stores. Then give those areas a thin coating of petroleum jelly.

Carved pumpkins decline the fastest in warm weather. Keep them out of direct sunlight and move them into a garage, cool basement, or a refrigerator when temperatures exceed 70°F. If your climate is humid or it is rainy, you should dry off and refrigerate your carved pumpkins at night. Freezing temperatures also speed decay, so move them to a protected location when temperatures outside are below freezing.

If a pumpkin starts to shrivel or gets a little mold prematurely, you can soak it for a couple of hours in a bucket of water to revive it, and add 2 teaspoons of bleach for every gallon of water, for disinfecting purposes.

If you are lighting up a pumpkin for more than one night, use a battery-operated candle or small flashlight inside instead of a candle. This will prevent soot and heat damage that could shorten the pumpkin's lifespan.