When do pumpkins ripen? The jack o lantern kind? when do I pick? Do they rot quickly?

Question

We planted pumpkins for my daughter, they are huge, oval, weigh at least 20-25 pounds and do not appear to wish to turn orange, is this because of the heat? Are they ruined?

Answer 1

Pumpkins are ready to harvest usually by the end of Sept. Here's a chronology of the pumpkin's life cycle:http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/cycle.htm
You'll know the pumpkins are fully ripe when the stems are dry and the skin resists penetration by a thumbnail. Don't harvest it until the skin has reached full color and has hardened. Another sign that a pumpkin is ready to be harvested is that the stem starts to crack.

If foliage is shading the pumpkin, cut it back so that the pumpkin will ripen quicker.
Leave the pumpkin on the vine until it has reached the color you want. Once it's picked, the color will stop developing.

Here's some tips to prevent rotting:
Put a board under your ripening pumpkin to deter bugs, moles and rotting from underneath.
Don't harvest when the pumpkin is wet or allow it to become wet after harvesting because this will cause it to rot more quickly. Cut the pumpkin off the vine with a sharp knife, making sure it has a 3 to 5 inch stem (when the stem is attached, it is less likely to rot).

After cutting, expose the pumpkin to the sun for 10 days to cure it. This hardens the skin & heals cuts, so it forms a barrier and loses moisture more slowly, therefore enabling it to sit longer. While curing, if a frost threatens, cover the pumpkins at night.

Carry the pumpkin out of the field by holding it in the palms of your hands, not by the stem.
For long term storage, wash the pumpkin in a very mild chlorine solution...1 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water to destroy bacterias which may cause the pumpkin to rot.
Allow the pumpkin to dry completely.
Make sure your pumpkin has air circulation to help prevent moisture from forming on the surfaces of the fruit and to retard the growth of decay fungi and bacteria.
Store the pumpkin in a cool, dry and dark place(if possible) 50 to 55°F.
Avoid hot and humid places, even if storing for only a couple of weeks.
Pumpkins are best stored on a board or piece of cardboard.
Do not store on a cement floor or with apples to prevent rot.

Answer 2

i might say approximately 2 - 4 days in warmer climate, 4 - 12 days in cooler climate right down to freezing. in case you permit your pumpkin freeze, you'll want pumpkin mush. Pumpkins are food, and you does no longer pass away food out unrefridgerated, to be sure that this reason it is occurring. you may try wiping off the mould and spritzing it with a bleach answer - a million T bleach for a million Quart water ought to do it. yet no grants.

Answer 3

Usually mid October (mid-Michigan) they are orange, start turning
late September. Rot about 3-4 weeks after harvest.

Answer 4

I agree with the other's, have patience they will turn orange. About rot... a pumpkin farm my family visits told me to wash the pumpkins with bleach water to help preserve them. Congrats! =-)

Answer 5

They are not ruined. As soon as the turn you can pick them at any time. They actually take quite a while to go bad provided they are kept in tact. You may have to wait until late Sept. early Oct.