The leaves here are turning. Bright red, yellow and orange - and I have crocuses blooming in the garden, is that normal?! Anyhoo, it really has put me into an Autumn state of mind. I am presently digging out my fall wreath and tomorrow we are headed to the Spencer Hill Orchard and Gallery in Grand Forks for the Apple Festival to grab some pumpkins and homemade apple juice. Mmm pumpkin patchy apple juice :)
Buying pumpkins now and trying to keep them through the month can be difficult. Last year my friend Jo (who carries the Martha Stewart gene) passed along a super trick, that I am now passing along to you!
Preserving Your Pumpkin:
Fill you kitchen sink (or another deep basin) with cold water.
Add 1 cup of Bleach
Submerge Pumpkin (or other lovely gourd-licious decoration) fully.
Let soak for 1 hour.
Pumpkin can be resoaked closer to carving time to ensure no mildew or mold!
It worked like gangbusters! The pumpkins I had last year lasted so long I was beginning to wonder if they had cured all the way through. I thought, "Great, I won't have to do this again! I'll just store these and reuse them every year!" But when I started decorating for Christmas in the first week of November (I know, I know, but it is a season people!) I put them outside and a squirrel ate them. Oops. Obviously I am starting from scratch this year, but it is too much fun to skip!
I love doing this for pumpkins I use as decorations inside. It makes me feel more confident that there will not be creepy crawlies in my house and on my table display. Mine do still eventually rot though, but it lasts longer which is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this but I am so doing it this year! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFunny.. I was just trying to remember the other day what the mixture was! Thanks for posting!
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