Community Corner
Keep Your Jack-O-Lantern Fresh
The worst thing about Halloween is rotting pumpkins. But it doesn't have to be that way.
It's pumpkin season! Some of the best pumpkins around can be found at Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park in San Martin.
We love the tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns, but they start to get mushy and don't last long once you carve them. So then comes the delimma: do you hope it lasts until the big night and go ahead and carve it anyway, or do you wait until the last minute to make sure that it's nice and fresh?
Of course, there are some store-bought products made just for this purpose, but you could also try one of these tricks to help your little pumpkin friends last longer. Some work better than others, but it might be fun to do a little science experiment to find out the best!
Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Options To Try:
1. Rub petrolium jelly (like Vaseline) onto the exposed pumpkin flesh after carving.
Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
2. Spray cooking spray (like Pam) onto the exposed pumpkin flesh after carving.
3. Submerge and soak carved pumpkin into a solution of 1Tablespoon bleach & 1 gallon water. Soak it for about 8 hours (overnight) and then put the left-over solution into a spray bottle. Spray inside and all around your pumpkin daily to keep mold away.
4. Put silica packets inside your carved pumpkin. *(It is not safe to not open, eat, or leave them inside the pumpkin if you put a candle in it. This particular trick is not reccomended if you have curious little ones around that may eat the silica packets.)
