Ok, now I know it is almost mid January and pumpkins are what you would say somewhat out of season. In fact most of you have probably forgotten about the beauties you had a little over 2 months ago. Well.... I have a confession to make. Although I did carve 2 of my pumpkins (both of which are not pictured here) I kept all the others. Little ones included. I could just not bring myself to cut them. I kept saying that I would cut them later and dry the seeds so that I could grow them next year yet I sadly admit that day never did come. Truly I expected them to get soft and begin to fade as time passed. Yet they never did.
The small ones adorned my coffee table along with the gords that I accumulated in Fall. I left them there through Christmas as I just like the festive look it gave and I could not help but marvel at the fact that they never softened. The larger ones sat beneath my Christmas tree sort of as a unique type of decoration I tried to infuse into my decor this year. The only thing that changed was the green and yellow pumpkin turned more an orange and darker orange. Other than that they all have kept their size and firmness.
I cleaned out the two wee ones today as they were beginning to get a bit soft. I am drying their seeds and of course keeping them for planting... I know I have to clean the others in time yet it has become somewhat of a challenge for me now to see just how long I can keep them before they soften. A few of my gords have started their drying process. The will come in handy the next time I want to do any dance that may require me to use moracas. What can I say I truly hate to throw things away if there is any way I can use it for something. I am not sure how long the pumpkins will last but at least it is allowing me to procrastinate and not feel bad about it... Talk about justifying ones bad habits....
13 comments:
I think that's something we bloggers all share is a hate of throwing thins out.
how strange that as I was cooking dinner tonight I was thinking about the pumpkin we carved last October.
Your pumpkins look lovely. I'd love to know how long you end up keeping them
Our two jack o'lanterns are sitting out in the backyard under two feet of snow. We'll find them in the spring.
I love drying gourds! My parents have started a crazy dried gourd collection, carving them, painting them, making birdhouses out of them, you name it. I'm interested to know if the pumpkins will dry in the same manner.
That is awesome - I'm surprised they haven't softened by now too!
If it makes you feel better, when I have my own space I have several ceramic pumpkins - large and small that I keep out all year, no matter what. Fall is my favorite season and I love them, it makes me feel good. ;-)
~don't know why i never thought to dry their seeds and plant them...i to savor moments and gifts for sometime past when the time should supposedly be up! i will jot this down as we grow pumpkins each year and will also make for a great science project for my littles ones...this past summer we keep the seeds from some of our sunflowers to be planted for this coming year...thank for sharing...savor them...brightest blessings~
Wonderful that you gourds and pumpkins stayed so nice so long! How nice that you are saving the seeds for this upcoming planting season! Have a good day!
We still have about 35-40 squash of different varieties left, even after giving a lot away. I keep them in my shop which stays at 45 to 5o degrees with the aid of a small heater. I think we overdid it on squash last summer. They are one of my favorite garden foods though. X.
i keep telling myself i am going to cook up that last remaining lovely pumpkin. i really want to, but i keep getting distracted- thanks for the reminder :D
LOL - good to see I'm not alone!
Although I did cook down and freeze my pumpkin for use in yummy recipes, I do still have a white "Lumima" pumpkin that I didn't carve (and can't eat, because they are not edible!)
I too, used it as a Christmas decoration - and it still looks pretty sitting on my shelf!
Enjoy yours for as long as you can!
I still have pumpkin in the cold storage. When they start to soften I cut them in half, clean out the seeds and then cook them up. If I can't use it right away into the freezer it goes. By waiting to cook them up, it stretches the time I have to process them. I hate having to cook a ton of squash all at once.
It's great that you saved some of the pumpkins for use later, pretty good idea in my opinion as now you have something you can use from the process.
Guess what? I still have the pumpkins my kids painted and decorated with glitter for Halloween, sitting at my front door. LOL
I couldn't bare to part with them and they seem to be holding their own.
But yea, I'm sure I get some curious looks from passersby. ;)
)O(
boo
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