Where To Place Your Pumpkins To Keep Them From Rotting

This time of year, there are so many fun and creative ways to decorate with pumpkins for a stunning fall display. However, when those pumpkins start to rot too early, it can turn your festive front porch into a graveyard for mushy, moldy pumpkins. If that's not spooky enough, those rotting gourds are often accompanied by an army of bugs and other small pests, ready to feast on the pumpkin flesh. And while you may have a few handy household ingredients to keep a carved pumpkin looking fresh, how and where you place it plays perhaps an even more important role. For example, placing your pumpkins in direct sunlight really speeds up the decomposing process, so opting for a shadier area is a huge help. 

Putting your pumpkins under a cover will protect from sun, rain, and damaging elements. But other factors, like whether they're in contact with wood or concrete surfaces and how tightly your pumpkins are clustered together, can also contribute to the speed at which your fall pumpkins rot. Rotted pumpkins cause a whole myriad of issues, from hard-to-remove stains on your porch to bugs in your home, so its worth taking a few extra steps to keep them preserved.

If you're looking to create a Pinterest-perfect fall porch display filled with pumpkins that last, a few key placement tips will stop your gorgeous gourds from rotting too early. The first placement tip is easy: Since pumpkins rot faster under the heat of direct sunlight, try placing them in a shadier area. Under trees or a covered porch will work, but if you're unable to find a naturally shady area, consider creating your own. A spooky DIY archway, for example, can add a little shade and make your whole display look even better. In addition to the sun, extreme weather speeds up the rotting process. Whether you're dealing with a sudden temperature change, high heat, extreme cold, or a heavy rainstorm, it's best to place your pumpkins indoors until things settle.

Stacking and clustering pumpkins on your lawn or porch is an easy and natural way to decorate for the season, but clustering them too close to each other could have a negative impact. Whether they're on or off the vine, pumpkins that are too close together will suffer from poor air circulation. This leads to humidity, moisture buildup, and eventual rot. To combat this, leave an inch or two of space between your pumpkins to let them breathe. Similarly, placing your pumpkins directly on wood, concrete, soil, or other damp/porous surfaces can trap moisture beneath them, allowing mold, bacteria, and pests to thrive. To avoid this, place a layer of hay or a vine wreath under your pumpkins to elevate them off the ground. This will increase airflow and protect your porch from unsightly rot stains. As an added bonus, the hay and vines look pretty cute as well.