Gardening Tips: Choosing A Pumpkin

If you're hunting for a pumpkin this weekend, here are some tips for choosing one that'll last. I'm Lisa Hilgenberg from Chicago Botanic Garden with your gardening tips for the week.

Pumpkins are actually orange winter squash, which is a long season garden vegetable needing 100 days in the field. The species used for decorations is rarely used for cooking but rather as feed for farm animals.

Well grown squash are heavy for their size; ripe when color is deeply saturated and the rind is hard and impenetrable when lightly pressed by a fingernail. Often the dull glaucous sheen is an indication of ripeness.

Harvest winter squash before frost which accelerates deterioration. Handle the pumpkin carefully by using two hands to lift it, although tempting to pick up by the handle. If the stem is broken off it won't last long.

Choose squash free of soft spots, wash with warm water and dry before carving. The seeds are a healthy snack when roasted. Keep pumpkins in a cool place after carving.

High quality pie making pumpkins are buff colored and related to the butternut squash.

Lisa Hilgenberg is the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden Horticulturist. She teaches classes for the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden and mentors interns from the Garden's urban agriculture programs in the summer. Lisa draws on a rich family farming tradition, having spent many summers on her grandparents' farms in Iowa and Minnesota. You can follow Lisa on Twitter @hilgenberg8.