The Clear Sign The Pumpkins In Your Garden Are Ready To Harvest

There's a clear sign that new growers often miss indicating their pumpkins are ready to harvest. After following Martha Stewart's expert advice for growing the perfect pumpkins, the last thing you want to do is harvest them too early. Color change can be misleading — many pumpkins blush orange long before they mature. Pick the fruit too soon, and it won't store well. Leave them on the vine too long, and rot may set in. If you don't want that to happen, try knocking gently on your pumpkin. When thumped, mature fruit produces a hollow sound. It's a clear sign your pumpkin is ready for harvest. However, while thumping is one of the most common maturity tests, it's not your only option.

The hardened rind of a pumpkin, which sometimes has a light waxy coating, serves as a pumpkin's armor against dryness and decay. Another reliable way to know if a pumpkin is ready for harvest is the fingernail test: Push your fingernail into the hard rind to see if you can puncture it. It should be impenetrable. A mature pumpkin also develops a solid color. Collectively, these changes signal that the fruit has reached its peak of storage durability and flavor. While vines often begin to decline around this time, that shouldn't be your only cue. Disease or drought can also cause vines to die back before the fruit is fully mature. Knowing these key signs of maturity helps ensure picked pumpkins last.

Even if your pumpkins pass the thump, rind, and color tests, you may want to employ a few other tips for harvesting your pumpkins this fall to triple-check maturity. The stem should appear corky and woody, indicating that the fruit is no longer taking up nutrients from the vine. Color can be tricky. A uniform rind hue is important, but how it manifests can vary by pumpkin species, variety, or cultivar. Check the seed packet or nursery listing for the pumpkin you're growing to confirm how the fruit should look when mature. What's more, picking time shouldn't be your only consideration when it comes to pumpkin harvesting. How you handle and store your crop can make all the difference in growing edible, carveable pumpkins.

Cut the pumpkin from the vine using a sharp knife or pruners, leaving 3 to 5 inches of stem attached. Pumpkins without stems rot faster, and carrying them by the stem risks breakage. Handle picked fruit gently to avoid bruising it. Any damage will shorten storage life. Cure your pumpkins outdoors for 7 to 10 days at 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit or indoors in 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% humidity. This process hardens the rind and heals small cuts. Store cured pumpkins somewhere cool, dark, and dry at 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. How long will pumpkins last after you harvest them from the garden? They'll keep for about two to six months, depending on the variety.