How to Preserve Pumpkin Plants Until Halloween

I replant my pumpkins every year—and for good reason. They start out slow, and just as the vines begin to bloom and the pumpkins emerge, the fall rain begins and the temperature drops. There are a lot of challenges to keeping those pumpkins healthy, strong and ripe enough for Halloween. Here are some tips for preserving your pumpkin plants for Halloween (and even Thanksgiving).

Don’t let new pumpkins grow right now

It’s easy to get excited about the number of pumpkins each vine can produce. Depending on the pumpkin variety, one vine can grow up to 12 twelve pumpkins. We’re usually talking about mini pumpkins like Baby Boo or the sugar pumpkins you use in pies. The larger the pumpkin, the less there should be on each vine, so standard carving pumpkins should usually only have one or two vines. Either way, now is the time to accept that new pumpkins won’t grow before Halloween.

Like tomatoes, pruning the vines redirects energy into the pumpkins, so now is the time to prune them. Go to the last decent-sized pumpkin on the vine and cut the vine behind it. This will give existing pumpkins the best chance of ripening this month. Also remove any flowers that grow after this point.

Protect them from mold

Pumpkins get their nutrients and strength from the leaves and vines, so powdery mildew is a real killer this time of year. Typically caused by rain and too much moisture, this fungus appears as white webbing on the leaves. The good news is that there are controls for this. Although there are stories from wives using milk and some people have success using neem oil, I have always used vinegar with success. Mix four tablespoons of vinegar with a gallon of water and spray the leaves every few days, especially after rain.

Unless you’re in a very dry and warm place, your pumpkins don’t need as much water, if any at all, at this point. If you see really diseased leaves, they should be cut off. Anything that has brown spots should be thrown away, and you want to be sure it ends up in the trash and not the compost. The goal here is to keep the vines green and healthy for as long as necessary to ripen the pumpkin; once they turn brown, it’s all over.

Harvest them after the first frost.

Your pumpkins will survive the frost, but your vines will not. They will wilt and darken, which means it’s time to replant, regardless of the condition of your pumpkin. Ideally, harvest when the pumpkins are dry. To prevent rotting, leave a healthy stem on your pumpkins—three to four inches from the pumpkin. Resist the urge to carry it around by the stem; to keep it healthy, you need to carry it from below. If you can cure the pumpkins, they will last longer, but that means ten days in eighty-five degree heat, so if you can’t get it outside and can’t recreate it inside, your pumpkin is on the short schedule. and will last about ten days. The time is appropriate for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

If necessary, ripen the pumpkins inside.

It’s best if the pumpkin is ripe when you cut it. A ripe pumpkin sounds hollow when you knock on it. The peel has changed color and hardened, which can be checked with your fingernail. If there is a dent, leave it on the vine if you can, unless the vine is dead.

If you have to cut your pumpkin prematurely before it’s ripe, there’s still a chance you’ll turn it over. First, be much gentler; cut off a few inches of the vine, as you would with a ripe pumpkin. Bring the pumpkin inside and place it on the windowsill because it needs light and air. Turn it over daily. The speed of ripening depends on the amount of sunlight and heat, so be patient. The pumpkin will not only turn over, it will also heal if you leave it long enough. Roasted pumpkin is easier to carve, but unbaked pumpkin will work as long as you’re careful. (Once carved, however, it won’t last as long.)

Of course, pumpkins that don’t fall within the important Halloween window make great Thanksgiving pumpkins, so don’t stress too much about it.