My Pumpkins are Weeping?

[ContainerTed]

I don't raise a really wide variety of veggies, never have. But, I will try to take care of anything that is forced on me or falls into my hands. This time around, it's volunteer pumpkins. I found two growing from the same vine over in a weed patch that was a pumpkin machine back in 2014. I watched them develop and finally picked them today when I saw they had achieved good color and the stems and vine had turn black.

I brought them in and washed the dirt and debris off and set them on a towell to dry. An hour later, my DW moved them to another location on our kitchen island. After about another 30 minutes, I happened to look at them and noticed that there was a collection of water around the stem area. I had broken them off the vine and there was no "three inches of stem" left on them.

Here's the pictures below and my question is whether or not this is normal (we've had more than our share of rain over the last two weeks) and what are the consequences if this is not a good thing. I had thought about saving some of the seeds. I may just try to get a couple of small jack O' lanterns out of them. I'm mostly interested in whether or not the seeds should be good.

[Bipetual]

Ted, I've never grown a pumpkin but it doesn't surprise me too much. I know when you cut a zucchini stem they weep a little, so it's probably the same principle. I'm a little surprised by how much there is, but not by there being a liquid. Hopefully some more experienced people will chime in, because it's interesting.

[Gardeneer]

You cut/broke the stem too close, creating a wound.
Maybe lately it got too much to drink, and in warm inside temperature an extra pressure was created inside, pushing some of the water out.

[PhilaGardener]

When it dries, that secretion seals the wound. I suspect that because the stem contains the vascular tissue, the weeping is more substantial than it would be from a side gash. I'd drain most but leave a thin film to seal the broken area. Otherwise it doesn't seem abnormal to me.

[kayrobbins]

When you harvest your pumpkins you should cut the stem at 3 inches long. If you do that you will not have that weeping. If I accidently break off the stem I always use that pumpkin first since it will not store as long.

[ContainerTed]

Thanks for the above replies. I ended up breaking the stems off when I broke two box cutter blades trying to cut them. I got frustrated and simply broke the stems as per the pix's.
They kept weeping overnight. The larger one probably produced about 5 tablespoons (so far). The smaller one has really been putting out the juice. I had to set in on a large plate on the counter. This morning, it had about a 1/4" of liquid on it - easily more than 10 times what came out of the larger one.

Well, at least they are not rotten or bad in some way. After a discussion with the DW, I'll probably just harvest the seeds and find some good homes for them.

I did notice that the liquid has a distinct and very pleasant 'Punkin' aroma to it. That and the lower nighttime temps are given the house a warm autumn feel to things.

Thanks again for the replies.

[carolyn137]

I'd weep too if someone cut off my lifeline to continued existance,

Agree with those who have said to always leave a handle ( a few inches) on not just pumpkins but other , especially, hard shelled winter storage squash.

Carolyn, who spent long hours in the squash fields at our old farm cutting squash and then taking bushels of many different varieties back to the greenhouse for curing.

[Worth1]

Ted next time bring some Loppers or pruners to the field.
Knives just dont get it.

Dry the wound and pour hot wax over it.

Worth

[ContainerTed]

Last year, I helped the folks who grew the pumpkins harvest and my box cutters did the job real easy. I couldn't understand why this one was so hard to cut (about 1 1/4" in diameter). I tried the stem at several points and nothing gave at all. My lack of experience and subsequent knowledge with pumpkins (I don't like pumpkin pie or other pumpkin stuff) led me to believe that the stem had died and was of no further use. So, I broke it off the best way I could.

Hey, I would have needed heavy duty bolt cutters, the kind you cut locks with. My box cutter barely put a mark on those black stems. After a few moments of thought about how to cut the stems, I told myself that I didn't feel like walking back up the hill to the house to get a chain saw.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So, I'll end up harvesting the seeds from these "iron pumpkins". Hope I don't need a log splitter to crack thru the skin.

Finally, I guess there's always things to learn in every adventure.

[dustdevil]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

Thanks for the above replies. I ended up breaking the stems off when I broke two box cutter blades trying to cut them. I got frustrated and simply broke the stems as per the pix's.
They kept weeping overnight. The larger one probably produced about 5 tablespoons (so far). The smaller one has really been putting out the juice. I had to set in on a large plate on the counter. This morning, it had about a 1/4" of liquid on it - easily more than 10 times what came out of the larger one.

Well, at least they are not rotten or bad in some way. After a discussion with the DW, I'll probably just harvest the seeds and find some good homes for them.

I did notice that the liquid has a distinct and very pleasant 'Punkin' aroma to it. That and the lower nighttime temps are given the house a warm autumn feel to things.

Thanks again for the replies.

When the stems get kinda woody, use a hacksaw to cut them. Hold the stem whilst sawing, so it doesn't break off.

Bung the stem wound and let the liquid inside ferment to make pumpkinjack

[Ricky Shaw]

Bung the stem wound, of course.

[Ricky Shaw]

Don't toss it though!

The Great Pumpkin Shortage: They Are Available for Halloween — But Maybe Not Thanksgiving

http://http://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...giving-n440516

"once we ship the remainder of the 2015 harvest, we'll have no more Libby's pumpkin to sell until harvest 2016."

[Worth1]

I have found that most people including myself dont like pumpkin pies and products because they aren't spiced right and or enough.
Pumpkins taste like a very bad watermelon if not prepared properly.
They need to be sweeter and have about twice as much pumpkin pie spice as most recipes call for.
A better option is to make your own pumpkin pie spice and blend it the way you want.
Warning too much nutmeg or mace will make food taste like kerosene and will kill a dog.
Think of a pumpkin as nothing but a carrier for your favorite spices.
None of which even have to be the usual things that go in pumpkin pie.
Consider one made with sugar butter cinnamon and hot red pepper.

The poor old pumpkin has been stuck in a slot that it doesn't deserve to be in.
The last one I had from the bakery was bland and the crust was like a petrified shingle.
I think it came from Wall Mart or some other store.

I remember the first time my wife made one by the recipe to a tee.
It was horrible and she blamed herself.
The next time she tried it again same recipe.
Before she got too far I asked her to try the filling and she did.
I asked her if she liked it and she said no so I told her to fix it.
She argued that it went against the recipe.
I told her to then scarp the recipe and do as you wish or you wont like it.
She did and from then on her pies were fine.

I loved my wife to death but she was the kind of person that had to have a formula or rule for everything.
She was a math wiz and couldn't read a book without finding a grammatical error in it.
She was a so called left brain thinker and I am a right brain thinker.



Worth

[Ricky Shaw]

Pumpkin pie is okay, but I prefer the texture and flavor of sweet potato pie so much more.

[ContainerTed]

Well, I think most of us will say that they can see themselves in Worth's picture above of the lerft/right brain. But, reality says that most of us have a couple of those things on each side that are not really that strong.

The wax sealing thingie didn't work. The first thing I could find was a tea candle. I carefully dried the stem area with paper towells and then used a hair dryer briefly to make sure all was dry. Then drizzled wax on both about 1/4 inch thick. The weeping fluid just lifted the wax up and ran down the side of the pumpkin.

That liquid really has a strong "punkin" aroma. I'll let you know when I use the pneumatic concrete breaker to open up the skin.