Whether as an autumn table decoration or as a decoration for Halloween - the carved pumpkin gives the house and garden character from September and gives every room a homely touch with its natural charm. But mold and strong sunlight can quickly damage it - so so that you can admire your masterpiece for a long time, you have to preserve the pumpkin. We'll help you with a few tips - try the tricks yourself and save time and stress the next time you make autumn decorations with natural treasures.
Proper storage plays a crucial role
Whether and how long your pumpkin decoration will last depends closely on the pumpkin. Here are some tips to keep it fresher longer:
- So be careful when purchasing so that you choose the best pumpkin possible. It should have a thick stem and firm skin. Fresh pumpkins can be recognized by their uniform color. A damaged peel offers the best conditions for mold to form, as the bacteria can penetrate the pumpkin.
- Store the pumpkins in a cool, darkened and well-ventilated room. The less it is exposed to strong sunlight, the more durable it is.
- Turn the pumpkins over every day to avoid any bruises.
- Heat and artificial light contribute to decay.
- Wait before carving because once it is carved, it will stay fresh for between 2 and 3 weeks. Save yourself the trouble and double work and instead of carving it, you canpaint it firstand display for 2 weeks. After that, you can carefully wipe off the paints and hollow out the same pumpkin and display it as a lantern for Halloween.
Make the carved pumpkin last longer
And when you're ready to carve, these tips will help make it last longer:
- Thoroughly wash all fruits and allow them to dry out completely. This will prevent germ formation during carving.
- Do not cut off the top - the longer the stem remains, the longer the fruit will stay fresh. If you want to make a lantern, you can hollow out a hole in the back.
- Carefully scoop out the pumpkin with a spoon, being careful as you do so. Be extra careful not to create any torn corners.
- Dilute 15ml of bleach in 1L of water and dip the hollowed out Halloween pumpkin into the solution. Optionally, you can mix lemon juice and water 1:1 and spray with it. The bleach or the lemon juice prevent bacteria and therefore mold from forming and the decoration no longer looks so beautiful in a few days.
- Allow the pumpkin to dry out completely in a cool room for a few days before carving it. To do this, you can wipe off the water droplets with a soft cloth and possibly turn on a fan.
- Rub the cut edges with petroleum jelly or brush the edges with olive oil. You can also seal the moisture with other home remedies: nail polish, color spray, white glue on the edge of the pumpkin.
- Make your own peppermint pumpkin repellent from 6 drops of peppermint oil, a capful of peppermint soap, an empty 250ml bottle. Fill the bottle with lukewarm water, first add the soap and then the peppermint oil. Stir well, shake the bottle vigorously and spray the pumpkin inside and out. Optionally, you can purchase a pumpkin protectant and use it to treat the surface of the fruit.
If the pumpkin begins to decay, ice-cold water can help. Simply fill a pot (or deep container) with cold water and submerge it for 1-2 hours. You can then apply petroleum jelly again to the cut edges.
Store the pumpkin properly
They are planning oneHalloween theme partyand would like to make several lanterns yourself? A tip - to make the carved pumpkin last longer, you can wrap it in cling film and store it in the refrigerator or in the gazebo at temperatures between 2-5 degrees. Store the pumpkins in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2-3 days, otherwise you may contribute to mold formation.
The lantern in the garden, on the other hand, should be in a place where it is protected from wind and rainprotected locationbe put on display. An arrangement with a pumpkin usually decorates the entrance to the house, the outside stairs or the winter garden.
There are numerous tools for pumpkins sold on the market - you should clean them thoroughly before and after each use so that no pumpkin residue remains. To ensure that you carve the pumpkin as cleanly as possible, you can first cut out a template and transfer the desired motif. Only then should you start carving. Beginners find it much easier to cut out a specific pattern using cookie cutters. This is at least possible with smaller pumpkins. Medium-sized and large pumpkins, on the other hand, can be perfectly shaped into the desired shape using a sharp cutter. A Jack O'Lantern face is created in no time.
If you want to preserve a pumpkin, you can hollow it out and cut a large hole in the front. Pumpkin dioramas last the longest because they are well ventilated indoors. At the same time, everything is possible here when it comes to design - let your creativity run wild and decorate the future lantern with homemade ghost silhouettes, bats, etc. made of paper!
Carving a pumpkin is not an easy task in itself - if you want to save yourself the effort, you can do it with several tricksHalloween carved pumpkinmake it durable. First of all, when buying, you should make sure that the fruit has a thick skin and that there are no visible signs of pressure. The Halloween pumpkin is then thoroughly cleaned and left to dry in a cool room. When carving, the rule of thumb applies: always use sharp tools, treat the edges with petroleum jelly or paint spray and carefully hollow out with a spoon.
