Pumpkin poser

[Essexboy]

I have a number of pumpkins on the allotment that are mostly now nice and orange. The odd one is a bit greenish/odd green patches, my problem being is that the couple of years the kids have got in and nicked/smashed them to bits. Would it be ok to harvest them at this stage and bring them home to ripen off! I do not have any space for them under cover.
Regards, Essexboy.

[Primrose]

Essexboy - I'd pick your pumpkins now and bring them to the safety of your home rather than run the risk of them being damaged. You can continue to ripen them off outdoors in your garden until the first frosts arrive if you have somewhere which catches the sun so hopefully you've still got a month before you start to panic about storage. If you don't have a shred or garage to store them over winter, could you possibly find space for them in a bedroom or somewhere?

[Johnboy]

Tch, Tch, Tch,
And I thought you were off the bottle, Primrose!
JB.

[Primrose]

Well, if I was on the bottle I'd probably have suggested tucking them up under a nice warm duvet with a hot water bottle to finish off the ripening process! And Essexboy can always use them as doorstops!

[Johnboy]

Sorry Primrose couldn't resist the temptation of a bit of fun!
JB.

[Primrose]

Keep them coming Johnboy! It's pouring with rain again here. Anything which provides some artificial sunshine is welcome.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Essexboy, i'm not an expert on pumpkins, but i think when you cut them from the plant, it pays to cut them with a good amount of stalk on the pumpkin, this helps to stop them rotting at the neck.

Maybe someone could verify this point for me.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I was told that if you cut them off with the piece of stem at either side of the stalk attached like a T shape there is less chance of them going rotten - just don't pick them up with it or it may break off.

Also you need to harden the skins off by keeping them in a warm, dry, preferably sunny place for two or three weeks before putting them into a cooler place to store.

[alia]

(while extremely jetlagged) i panicked at the sight of a slug and rather than move the slug, i moved the pumpkin... and it came off the plant with about an inch of stem attached. heartbroken (i have a tiny space and only two pumpkins had survived the double onslought of squash borer and powdery mildew) i brought it home green striped and put it on the kitchen table. well, it's almost completely orange, three weeks later, despite minimal sunlight. as soon as it's cool enough to bake, i'm going to cut it open and attempt to make a pie out of it. i have no idea if it will be edible, but it doesn't appear to have rotted or anything sad like that.

good luck!