Bottles, bowls, candlesticks, ladles, birdhouses - this is not a complete list of what can be made from a decorative pumpkin. In addition, a fancy pumpkin in itself can be a great gift. But for this it must be well dried.
It is necessary
- - pumpkin;
- - soap;
- - water;
- - alcohol;
- - a room with good ventilation.
Instructions
Step 1
A lot depends on what kind of pumpkin you want to dry. Decorative pumpkins are of two types. These are cucurbita and lagenaria. Cucurbita has a soft green, orange or golden crust. Lagenaria has a hard crust, initially green, but the color changes to brown or yellow-brown as it dries.
Step 2
Harvest the pumpkin. This must be done at the moment when the stalk dries up, but before the onset of severe cold weather. It should turn brown. When harvesting, a small piece of the stalk must be left. Damaged pumpkins are best thrown away; they will not dry out, but will immediately start to rot.
Step 3
Before laying to dry, wash the skins of your decorative pumpkins with soapy water. It is best to use the most common laundry soap. Let the peel dry.
Step 4
Arrange the pumpkins in a single layer in a well-ventilated area. It may be light, but should not be exposed to direct sunlight. A veranda, a glazed loggia is suitable. You can dry pumpkins in the room. Let your cucurbits and lagenarii lie down for a week. Don't forget to control the process. After a week, the outer layer of the peel should dry completely, but in a cold room, drying is somewhat slower. The best option is to dry the pumpkins at room temperature.
Step 5
In the next step, you need a dark, well-ventilated room. If there is no suitable one in the house, you can spread the pumpkins, for example, under the beds. In order for the air to penetrate under the pumpkins, it is better to make horizontal grates on stands. Make sure the pumpkins are in one layer. They shouldn't touch. A large decorative pumpkin can be hung up so it dries more evenly.
Step 6
The process must be carefully monitored. Check the pumpkins every day. Remove those that have started to rot or become moldy. In some cases, mold can be removed. If the peel is hard, dampen a soft cloth with bleach solution and wipe the moldy area. If a mold stain appears on the still soft skin, the pumpkin will have to be thrown away.
Step 7
After two weeks, turn the pumpkins over to dry evenly. Do this every one and a half to two weeks. In addition to preventing rotting this way, you can still catch the moment when the pumpkins are completely dry. This takes a lot of time, about six months, while cucurbita dries about twice as fast as lagenarii.
Step 8
If the pumpkin has become light, and when you shake it you can hear the seeds rolling inside, it is ready. Now you can make all sorts of crafts from it. Sometimes you need to make the surface of the vegetable more even and smooth. Fine sandpaper is suitable for this purpose.
