And here’s my giant baby pumpkin so far:
The yellow side was down till I decided I wanted to know how big it was. I’m determined that it’ll get as big as possible. Course, we might freeze this weekend. *sigh*
Stupid Question: so, do I give up and bring it in cause they’re predicting a possible freeze, or do I hope they’re wrong (like they’ve already been 3 times with the date of first frost) and bring it in the morning after the freeze?
I don’t think a little frost will hurt the pumpkin. At least, it doesn’t for big orange ones.
Yah, frost is easy, toss a tarp over it for the night and no harm done, a freeze though, I donno if a tarp’ll suffice for that.
It’s a tough choice, but a frozen pumpkin is pretty worthless. Even green, these pumpkins are quite tasty.
Looking at the picture it may not be quite to the point where it will ripen the rest of the way indoors. If you do pick it now, make sure you do not scratch or damage the skin. Wash all dirt from the surface, and dry thoroughly. If it has any significant damage or a soft spot, cook it right away. If it is unblemished, set it in a dry place on top of a towel or rag, warm or cool doesn’t really matter. Keep an eye on it. If it looks like it is starting to shrivel within a two week time frame, core it , slice off the skin and and shriveled bits, and cook it covered in a pan in the oven for approx. 1 1/2 hours. Do not add water to the pan unless the pumpkin starts to brown too much on the bottom. The pumpkins hold a lot of moisture and will release it during the cooking process. The yellow side is more likely to shrivel than the green, so keep that part the most visible. If it makes it past the next month, it will probably keep until Feb. or March, unless Apollo decides it smells tasty.
Makes sense, ok. I’m still hoping they’re wrong about this weekend, even the frost we did get was only barely, the cloud cover keeps thickening up and keeping the nights warmer. I’m watching the weather reports way to closely lol. Not only for the pumpkin either, the rest of the jalapeno’s will need to come in too.
Rill a couple of milk jugs or soda bottles with warm water and place them around the pumpkin. Then place a bushel basket over it (or a tap might work). The water will release heat and should keep the pumpkin from freezing.
Or, you can surround it with a deep bed of straw and cover with the tarp – that should work too. Just make sure to pull the straw away when it warms up.
And that “tap” should have bee “tarp”. I’m going to get some coffee now . . .
I’ve had mornings like that lol. Thanks for the ideas, they’re still predicting lows in the mid-20’s for metonight so we’ll see what I can come up with after work. Might just give in and pick it, we’ll see.
I have no idea where that “R” came from , it should have been “Fill”.