Merry meet all,
I’m excited to share a few awesome tips with you. my dear readers, on how to preserve your pumpkins! We all love to carve pumpkins whether it be goofy or ghastly. Samhain is almost here! So put on Nightmare before Christmas or Monster Mash, sip cider, and whip out your pumpkin carving tools.
Before you carve, set down newspaper on your countertop or table, depending on where your workspace is. Wash, dry and put away the dishes. Create a clean workspace. It is so much easier. Now the way I do this may not be your way but fret not. Get everything clean and fresh. Ok let’s get to work.
Before you carve your orange squash, there a few things you can do that will preserve your pumpkin for much longer – and help you get your money’s worth out of the pumpkin. You will need bleach, water, the pumpkin, a large bowl and a timer. Mix a few tablespoons of bleach to water and fill the bowl with the mixture. It may have to be a large bowl to hold the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin in the bowl. Set your timer for twenty minutes. When that time is up, dip your pumpkin upside down to remove any extra water from it. Let it dry. It should dry quick. You can also add a silica gel pack to the inside of the pumpkin. When the pumpkin has dried, then brush it all over with a mixture of vinegar, lemon juice and water. This helps your pumpkin maintain it’s freshness for a lot longer.
Then you know the drill – etch in your design with a pencil or a sharpie pen. Then carve your pumpkin! I hope you have fun with it. It is meant to be fun.
When your eerie jack o lantern has outlived its usefulness, don’t toss it in the trash. Instead, compost it in the garden. The pulp and fleshy stuff I pulled out of the pumpkin was added to my garden. You feed a lot of insects and critters. Yup they will love you for it. I roasted the seeds.
It goes without saying be careful with candles.
I wish you all a merry Samhain!
Blessings Spiderwitch
