Frost is coming. I want to pick my 3 green pumpkins as the one that was ripening got eaten by bugs. Will they ripen if I pick them green? If not, and I leave them on the vine, how do I protect them from bugs?
Picked green pumpkins - will they ripen?
Unless they are mature they will not ripen. If they are showing a little color, you should be ok. To protect them if you do not wish to use insecticides, you can cover them with floatiing row covers.
thanks farmer! i had just this question on my mind.
I have not been on this site for awhile because the threat of frost passed and it has been unseasonably hot in the northeast. Farmer Dill I thank you very much for the info. The 3 pumpkins are all beginning to turn yellow. I had wanted to grow them to eat as squash so I planted a variety called pie pumpkins. They were supposed to get 5-7 pounds. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I also planted a giant pumpkin variety nearby, much too late in the season. But I obviously got cross pollination as my pie pumpkin plant has two 5-7 pound pumpkins and one 40 pound or so pumpkin. I can keep them on the vine awhile longer but with the sun lower on the horizon I am not getting nearly as much sun. Ultimately, I think they will still be partly green when I need to pick them. Now with your opinion Farmer Dill, I feel a llittle better.
For anyone wanting to know how FarmerDills's advice worked out.
I picked the pumpkins just before Halloween, half green. Did not let them get hit with a heavy frost and brought them inside for the winter. FD was correct, they ripened. I baked the 3 pumpkins periodically throughout the winter after ripening. The 40 pounder was still fresh when I baked it in February. (two batches in several pans in a large oven)
The bottom line is I don't really like cooked pumpkin. It was very watery and bland. Next year I will plant only winter squash. I suspect a pumpkin vine will come up by itself as I threw a rotten pumpkin into the brush. I will probably enjoy watching it grow anyway. They seem to grow like Jack's magic beanstalk.
"Watery and bland" sounds like you may have been baking pumpkins meant more for carving... especially given the size of that big one. "Sugar pumpkins" or "pie pumpkins" are usually much smaller... and they bake up more like a winter squash. I've made that same assumption and been really disappointed with a baked jack-o-lantern!
I love cooked pumpkin. Will be growing my very first as soon as the ground warms up. Thanks for the reminder.
Peeled, and cut into chunks
Cooked on top of the stove, with butter, cinnamon, and sugar, till not so watery.
Served with warm toast and a nice cup 'a coffee or a tall, ice cold glass of milk
YUMMY!
I bake and mash sugar pumpkins for pie... and usually they are not watery at all. One year, I had some with good flavor and texture but decided I wanted the results to be a little thicker. Rather than cook it down, I just put the cooked, mashed pumpkin into a strainer and let it drain until it was as thick as I wanted.
Well maybe I won't give up on the eating pumpkins concept but will try another variety. I sure do love watching them grow. People ask me what I do in retirement and I say I go out and watch my veggies grow!