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Manitoba

I just cut my 300 lb. pumpkin off the vine and as we were loading it into the cargo van, we accidently scraped, cut and bruised the side of it. Now that it is off the vine, will it heal over? What sort of care should I take with these wounds? It's sitting in my brother's garage covered now waiting for Halloween. I'm going to clean it with a 10% percent bleach solution but after that I don't know what else to do or if I need to do anything else. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks

9/23/2006 1:44:38 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Once the fruit is off the vine the wound cannot heal over as growth is stopped. But if you clean it thoroughly with bleach then keep is very dry it should be OK for a while.

I've often thought that salt might help disinfect & dry the exposed flesh.

Has anyone ever tried salt to preserve exposed pumpkin flesh?

9/23/2006 6:21:26 PM

Long Island,New York

Wounds on a pkn will heal even after its removed from the vine..they cantelope over.

9/23/2006 9:40:34 PM

Salmon Arm, BC

I brushed on a sulphur/water mixture over some nics in mine and they have formed a hard crust.

9/28/2006 12:37:32 AM

Bethlehem CT

Every Winter I usually bring some pumpkins into the house. (a big max or a small Atlantic Giant.) I wash with an antibacterial hand soap to remove dirt and any living organisms. The kids play on the pumpkins and put scratches and dents in them all winter. A healthy pumpkin that has mature skin and a healthy layer of wax will withstand an incredible amount of damage and heal over. It almost seems like the pumpkin is still a living organism after it is harvested. A big max I grew in 2,005 just got soft in January 2,007. (It Did lose some weight in that time.)

2/7/2007 9:12:32 AM