CONCORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Big or small? Stem or no stem? Picture-perfect and spherical, or amorphous and lumpy?
Tis the season to choose a pumpkin to carve into a Halloween jack-o'-lantern. Pumpkin patches around Massachusetts offer plenty of gourds to choose from, but picking the perfect one can be a challenge.
Mark Amato, Farm Manager at Verrill Farm in Concord, said the key is in the stem.
"If they have a good, green stem when you first get it, that's a good sign," Amato said. "That's a good pumpkin." Pumpkins with strong stems are likely to last longer before rotting, Amato said.
Size also plays a role. Amato said large pumpkins tend to collapse in on themselves and small pumpkins can be challenging to carve.
The clock is ticking as soon as the pumpkin is cut into. Uncarved pumpkins can survive for up to three months in extreme temperatures without rotting, according to AccuWeather. Carved pumpkins only last a few days because humidity and bugs start eating away at their inner walls as soon as they have an opening.
"That's where all your fungus spores will enter and cause it to rot," Amato said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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