Inside: Want that carved pumpkin to last? Check out the easiest way to preserve a carved pumpkin! You probably have everything you need at home.
I know it is only September, but October and Halloween are just around the corner. When I was young I felt like Halloween was just a holiday that kids got excited about. I rarely saw any Halloween decorations, we just loved going trick or treating. Now it seems like Halloween is a major holiday. People start decorating at the beginning of October. I actually saw Halloween decorations at Kroger in July!! It’s crazy.
Although I don’t usually do much in the way of decorating I do like to get a couple of pumpkins and carve them. I used to wait until the last minute, but I found that stores are selling out of pumpkins long before Halloween. If you purchase a pumpkin weeks before Halloween you want to make sure it will last. With just a little bit of your time, you can preserve a carved pumpkin (or uncarved) to make sure it lasts through the Halloween season. Follow these easy tips to preserve a carved pumpkin.
To preserve a carved pumpkin you will need a bucket big enough to store your pumpkin in, some bleach, and water. If you are going to carve the pumpkin you will want to start with that. Then once the pumpkin is carved place it in the bucket and pour a cup of bleach into the bucket. Then add enough water to cover the pumpkin.
Let the pumpkin soak for about 24 hours in the bleach solution. The pumpkin will soak up some of the bleach water. The bleach water will help kill off and prevent any bacteria or mold from growing on your pumpkin. You can carefully remove your pumpkin from the bleach water and dump out any water in the pumpkin. Wipe down the outside of the pumpkin and you can now use your pumpkin. Your pumpkin will be preserved and ready to make it through the Halloween holiday.
I have heard some people say that they use a 50/50 bleach to water spray to spray down their pumpkin every couple of days, but I haven’t tried it. It may just help preserve your pumpkin for a couple extra days. If you want to preserve a carved pumpkin even longer you can always try spraying it down after doing the original bleach soak.
Preserving a carved pumpkin is such an easy trick and will help give you an extra week or so to display your carved pumpkin. You can easily preserve a carved pumpkin in a day and you probably have what it takes to do it already. You can easily enjoy your pumpkin before and during Halloween without worrying about it rotting before Halloween. Want to know how to make other fruits last longer? Check out how to store apples so they last for months.
Preserve A Carved Pumpkin
Bucket
Carved Pumpkin
1 cup bleach
Water
Place carved pumpkin in bucket and add 1 cup of bleach. Then add enough water to cover pumpkin. Let pumpkin sit in bleach mixture for 24 hours and then remove and dry off.
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I’ve never tried to preserve a pumpkin before, we might have to give this a try this year!
That’s a great idea! I’m going to try that this year. My husband and I usually got a little crazy with our fancy pumpkin carvings, but our beautiful artwork rots in just a few days.