WHEN ARE PUMPKINS READY FOR HARVEST? When it come to harvesting pumpkins, timing is all important. Pick them too early and and they will be too soft and prone to rots. Pick them too late and they are at risk both from animal and cold damage. For the complete article click onto the following link: seedsofeaden/edible-plants-k8/when-are-pumpkins-ready-for-harvest-b103.html So, how do you know when a pumpkin is ripe? Most pumpkins are ready to be picked as soon as summer comes to an end, which is fine if you intend to eat them immediately or use them for Halloween decoration. However if you are expecting to store them so that they can be eaten at later date then you may wish to wait until the first frosts before you lift. Once the first frosts get to work on your pumpkin crop the leaves will become crispy and shrink back exposing the swollen fruits beneath. With most pumpkin cultivars you can tell that they are ripe and ready for harvest as they will have a nice orange skin. Be aware that not all pumpkins cultivars will be completely orange to be ripe, in fact varieties will fully ripe yet completely green colour such as Fairytale and Marina Di Chioggia. Be for you harvest your pumpkins, there are three checks that you should make first. 1. Give the pumpkin a good thump or a slap. If it sounds hollow then it is ripe and ready to be picked. 2. Check that the skin is hard. A good way to do this is to gently try to puncture the pumpkin’s skin with your thumbnail. If the skin dents, but does not puncture, then the pumpkin is ready for harvest. 3. Check the stem leading from the pumpkin, making sure that it has turned hard. Other varieties such as Uchikeri could fulfill the slapping and thumbnail checks but still not be fully ripened, but you can tell this because.... To continue reading click onto the following link: seedsofeaden/edible-plants-k8/when-are-pumpkins-ready-for-harvest-b103.html
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 09:58:54 +0000
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