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Alberta Canada

I'm new to this but have a couple of good ones this year. It's September 6 and they are almost orange. Will they last the fall or do I have to pick them? How long will they store and the best method for storing them until halloween?

Thanks, Grizz.

9/6/2005 2:42:33 PM

Taber, Alberta

Hey Grizz, nice to have you here. Are you growing AG's or another type of pumpkin? My biggest field pumpkin is turning orange and has stopped growing, but the smaller ones are still green and growing. My giants are still chugging along, but are not changing colour (depends on the pumpkin)
Where in Alberta are you? Our first frost can be from this week, until the end of September. I usually pull my giants for the weighoffs, and they survive quite nicely in my garage, just keep them off of the floor. I keep all my pumpkins on the vine as long as the plant is alive, even if they are not growing, just to keep them fresh. A friend of mine left his outside in front of his house last year for all of October. It hit -10 a few times, and by the end of the month they were getting a little softer. Hope this helps.
Alan

9/6/2005 10:47:19 PM

Alberta Canada

Thanks Sax, I'm in Edmonton and just a backyard grower but soon learned how a pumpkin patch can quickly take over the whole garden. I have one AG plant and two standard "over the counter" plants. I cross pollinated (pumpkin sex)the two species and have 2 medium size (50 lbs)on the jack-o-lantern plants. The AG just grew what looks to be a big squash. It was a steep learning curve this year and looking forward to some specialty plants next year. Thanks for the advise. Grizz.

9/7/2005 1:00:21 PM