Make this the year that your jack-o-lantern still looks good on Halloween
Carving pumpkins is a traditional Halloween activity, but anybody who has tried it knows that once a pumpkin is carved, its lifespan is drastically shortened. Squirrels can get after them (though there are ways to keep them safe), and if you wait too long, your jack-o-lantern will perish before the big day. It's obvious that the secret to decorating with pumpkins is planning, so plan ahead of time. Everything from when to harvest your pumpkins to how to preserve them requires planning.
Here's another technique to make your jack-o-lantern last longer.
Carving location is important
Most preservation suggestions center on what you do after you carve your pumpkin, but there's something you can do before you even scoop out those pumpkin innards, according to Wirecutter: don't cut your entrance hole around the stem on top.
Consider this: the stem is an important aspect of the pumpkin's structure. Before you snatched it up and carried it home to disembowel it, that's where it obtained its nourishment. Furthermore, the stem left on top is hefty, causing the lid you made to collapse.
Instead of cutting your hole up there, consider carving it on the bottom or at the rear of the pumpkin. This will assist to retain the structural integrity of the jack-o-lantern.
Purchase the most recent pumpkin available
Wirecutter also suggests finding a really fresh pumpkin. You should avoid obtaining a pumpkin that has already aged a little before you cut into it. This means purchasing your pumpkins from a pumpkin patch or farm rather than a supermarket.
Look for a securely connected green stem, since this suggests that the pumpkin is young and fresh. Brittle stems indicate that this one has been off the vine for some time. Don't get one with apparent bruising or holes, and don't speed up the weakening process by lifting it up by the stem. Instead of swinging them about by their vital, nutrient-rich stems, gather up all your pumpkins by the bottom and place them in a cart.
When you go home, put the pumpkin outside or in your refrigerator until you're ready to carve it. This will help to prevent premature aging. Just don't freeze the pumpkin—a little chill in the fridge will suffice.
Timing is everything
According to the Farmer's Almanac, you should wait as long as possible before carving. The sooner you gut your pumpkin, compromise its structural integrity, and leave it outside, the sooner it will disintegrate. This is especially true in high-humidity environments.
Make a plan for your carving. If you must have jack-o-lanterns out all season, buy some smaller pumpkins and carve them with basic designs, knowing that they will decay before Halloween week. Keep your big, complicated ones for the big day.
Finally, when you've completed your carving, dab some petroleum jelly on any sliced areas. It will halt the dehydration process, which will deteriorate the margins of your design.
#Halloween #HalloweenDecoration #JackOLantern #Pumpkins
SOURCE: lifehacker
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