How To Keep Carved Pumpkins Fresh In Minnesota

Few things are worse than carving the perfect pumpkin only to have it collapse into a soggy, moldy mess before Halloween night. Luckily, there’s a simple trick Minnesotans can use to keep their jack-o’-lanterns looking fresh and festive long after the candles burn out.

This time of year, pumpkins are big business here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), all states produce some pumpkins, though Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania produce the most, with those states dedicating over 30,000 acres to pumpkin production.

How to Keep Carved Pumpkins From Rotting Before Halloween

And those pumpkins, whether they're used for carving on Halloween or are processed and used for other purposes, like filling for all those pumpkin pies we'll devour on Thanksgiving, generate a decent amount of money. The USDA says total pumpkin production value of the top producing states increased 7 percent from $132 million in 2021 to $141 million in 2023!

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If you've ever carved a stunning Halloween design into a pumpkin and set it outside in Minnesota, you likely know they don't last too long before mold and decay set in. So here's a handy Halloween hack to help preserve those pumpkins this year in the Bold North.

How to Use Bleach and Water to Preserve a Carved Pumpkin

Spray them with a mixture of bleach and water after you're done carving them. Seriously. Clorox Bleach says spraying a diluted bleach solution on your pumpkins can help keep a jack-o’-lantern from getting fuzzy mold and black mildew inside.

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And it's not harmful to the environment either. Clorox says after using a diluted bleach solution as directed on your pumpkins, the mixture breaks down to table salt and water when it’s exposed to the air and sun. This poses no problems to critters who might munch on them when Halloween is over-- though they might taste a bit saltier.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Halloween Pumpkin Last Longer

Here are the exact instructions per Clorox Bleach:

Measure 1 teaspoon of bleach.
Add bleach to 1 gallon of water.
Fill a spray bottle with the diluted bleach solution.
Carve your pumpkin as desired.
Generously spray the inside of your carved pumpkin with the diluted bleach solution to prevent fuzzy mold and black mildew inside.

We usually carve a few pumpkins each year, and despite having lived here in Minnesota and Wisconsin my entire life, I'd never heard of this handy Halloween hack until now. I'll definitely give it a try this year!