How to dry decorative pumpkins

The most important thing is to remove the fruits of decorative pumpkins in time, before the onset of cold weather and, especially, frosts. Being late risks the fact that the pumpkins will quickly deteriorate due to rot caused by fungal diseases.

But you shouldn’t pick unripe pumpkins either: they won’t be stored. When fruits are ready for harvesting, the stalk dries out. Pick the pumpkins together with the stem.

To remove pathogens that may well be present from the surface of the fruit, pumpkins can be immersed in hot water (50-60 degrees) for a few minutes or washed with soap, rinsed and immediately dried, wiped with alcohol and vodka.

To dry, pumpkins are laid out in a dry room, but not in direct sunlight. The fruits are regularly checked and rotten ones are removed immediately. After about a week, when the skin of the pumpkins
When they dry out, they are put away in a dark, but again well-ventilated room.

They are laid out in one layer so that the fruits do not touch each other, and it is better on some kind of lattice tray so that there is ventilation underneath. It is advisable to turn the pumpkins about once a week for more even drying.

The readiness of pumpkins can be determined by their weight (the fruits become light) and by the fact that the seeds rattle when shaken. As a rule, this happens after about six months of storage.

You can dry decorative pumpkins faster if, after drying for a week, you carefully cut off the top, scrape out the pulp, stuff the cavity with paper and place it in a well-ventilated area. The paper inside the fruit is changed periodically. In this way, the pumpkin can be dried in several weeks.

Well-dried pumpkins can be stored indefinitely. They are used to make various crafts.

The nutritional value of decorative pumpkin is very questionable: even young fruits are inferior in taste to zucchini, zucchini, squash, and real pumpkin.