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Picking and preserving the perfect pumpkin

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Guest Columnist
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K-State horticulture expert shares tips for extending the life of carved pumpkins.

Pumpkins are a popular fall decoration this time of year, not to mention the joy of jack-o-lanterns, a Halloween favorite.

Kansas State University horticulture expert Cynthia Domenghini suggests harvesting or purchasing pumpkins that are fully ripened in order to increase their longevity.

“Pumpkins that are harvested before they fully ripen will rot more quickly than those harvested at peak maturity,” Domenghini said.

She adds:

  • A mature pumpkin will have a hard rind that is solid in color.
  • The pumpkin should make a hollow sound when thumped.
  • Mature pumpkins will have a waxy coating, which protects them from drying out.

After harvesting pumpkins, keep them cool and out of sunlight to extend their life.

“Carved pumpkins have a much shorter shelf-life, sometimes only a few days up to a week, before noticeable rotting occurs,” Domenghini said.

To extend the life of carved pumpkins:

  • Clean the inside thoroughly, removing all seeds and loose string.
  • Soak the inside of the pumpkin in a 10% bleach-water solution for several hours.
  • Avoid using a real candle inside the pumpkin, since the heat speeds up rotting.
  • If there’s a freeze in the forecast, bring your jack-o-lantern inside; pumpkins have a high concentration of water.

Domenghini and her colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Horticulture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens.

K-State horticulture expert shares tips for maintaining growth during the cold months

By
jennifer
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By Pat Melgares, K-State Research and Extension news service

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Cold temperatures have come to Kansas in bits and spurts this year, but enough so that many gardeners have moved cold-sensitive plants indoors recently.

It begs the question: Now what?

“Hopefully, you were able to transition your plants to the indoors (by gradually introducing them to less light), but if not, they may go through a period of shock,” said Kansas State University horticulture expert Cynthia Domenghini.

Symptoms of shock may include yellowing leaves, dieback and wilt, she said.

“Some plants won’t survive the shock if it’s extreme,” Domenghini said. “Others will recover over time and with proper care.”

Domenghini offers tips for helping plants survive their new indoor environment.

Water and fertilizer

Whether indoors or out, the amount of light decreases from fall to winter, resulting in slower plant growth. “This means the fertilizer and water needs will decrease,” Domenghini said.

She suggests only providing water when the soil is dry about one-inch deep. Fertilizer can be applied at one-fourth the recommended rate in November, then again in February.

“Plants in smaller containers often require water more frequently, but less fertilizer because they have less soil,” Domenghini said. “This varies based on species, so do your homework and research individual plant needs.”

Temperature

If the air temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the leaves of more sensitive plants may begin to yellow. “Keep this in mind if you adjust the thermostat during times when nobody is home, such as vacations,” Domenghini said.

Humidity

When the humidity is lower, plants release more water from the leaves. Many common indoor plants prefer high relative humidity.

“To increase the relative humidity, you can create a micro-climate by grouping plants closer together,” Domenghini said. “Another option is to place a shallow container below each plant and fill it with water. Elevate the container by placing some gravel in the saucer so that the plant isn’t soaking directly in the water.”

Misting plant leaves is recommended by some, but Domenghini says it is not a practical strategy to effectively increase humidity.

Light

Indoor plants should receive bright, indirect light either from a window or grow lights. Avoid placing plants too close to windows that are drafty, or next to heat vents.

Some indicators that plants are not receiving enough light include:

  • Elongated internodes (space between leaf/stem unions).
  • Pale foliage color on new leaves.
  • Dieback of older leaves.

Domenghini and her colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Horticulture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens.

Interested persons can subscribe to the newsletter, as well as send their garden and yard-related questions to [email protected], or contact your local K-State Research and Extension office.

How an Irishman, a turnip and the devil shaped Halloween

By
Guest Columnist
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For many people, Halloween would not be complete without a jack-o’-lantern. Americans are projected to spend more than $867 million on Halloween pumpkins this year, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. The U.S. pumpkin industry can thank Irish immigrants and a mythical character named “Stingy Jack” for Americans’ rush to buy pumpkins in October.

“According to Irish legend, Stingy Jack was an old curmudgeon who succeeded in tricking the Devil on several occasions during his acrimonious life,” says Trinklein. Upon his death, Jack appeared at the Gates of Heaven where he was denied entry because of his unsavory lifestyle. Instead, he was sent to Hell to learn his eternal fate.

Having been tricked by Jack on several prior occasions, the Devil wanted nothing more to do with him and refused to let him enter. Instead, he sent him off into the dark night with only a glowing ember to light the way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed-out turnip and, the legend has it, Jack and his lantern have since roamed the Earth.

The association of jack-o’-lanterns with the end of the harvest season is related to the Celtic festival of Samhain, observed on Oct. 31, which today is also observed as All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween. Both festivals are associated with the spirits of the dead roaming the Earth.

European immigrants to America continued the tradition of making jack-o’-lanterns but found pumpkins much easier to carve than turnips. Though pumpkin is a dietary staple throughout the world, in the United States this colorful member of the gourd family is sold primarily for decoration. “This fall, millions of Americans will make an annual pilgrimage to a ‘pumpkin patch’ or retail outlet to purchase a vegetable they are likely to look at but, unfortunately, not eat,” said Trinklein.

As a food, pumpkin offers many health benefits. It is high in beta carotene (vitamin A) and is a good source of dietary fiber. The spices in pumpkin pie have health benefits of their own. “Not many people could tolerate taking allspice directly to benefit from its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and stomach-calming properties. However, consumed in a piece of pumpkin pie, it tastes rather delightful,” said Trinklein.

Plant breeders today focus on improving pumpkin’s ornamental appeal rather than its “table quality,” he said. Driven by consumer demand, pumpkins today come in many different colors, shapes and sizes.

Most of the newer varieties mature into a deep orange color much earlier than pumpkins of the past. Many modern varieties now bear a large, dark green stem or “handle” for convenience. Another new development is pumpkins with rinds covered with warts, whichmake jack-o’-lanterns look even more ghoulish. In contrast, white pumpkins are now available that make faces painted on them more “spooktacular.”

When selecting a pumpkin for fall decoration, check for blemishes. Also, look for fully mature pumpkins by using the “thumbnail test”: If you can pierce the pumpkin rind with your thumbnail, the pumpkin was not fully mature when harvested and likely will not store well.

Stored pumpkins for later use by placing them in a cool, dry, shaded location at a temperature of 50-55 F and a relative humidity of 50%-70%.

University of Missouri Extension

Hog Slop

By
Lee Pitts
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My elders have always told me that I loved animals from the time I first laid eyes on a dog. They say, and I find this hard to believe, that I was even captivated by grandma’s cat… the one who’d later try to scratch my eyes out. Growing up I read every book I could about animals, never missed an episode of Wild Kingdom on TV and would rather see real animals in a zoo than I would animatronic animals at Disneyland.

Animal behavior has always been my favorite field of study and I must say that most of what I learned was, pardon my language, hog slop. For instance, I was taught that humans are the only ones who killed their own kind. Evidently the experts never had an ant farm as a child like I did. If they had they’d have known that ants go to war against other ants at the slightest provocation. Dare I say that ants are more murderous than Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Kahn, Charles Manson and John Wayne Gacy? (Did you also know that ants always fall on their right side when intoxicated?) I know from experience that rabbits sometimes kill their own babies and hogs have not only killed their piglets but eaten them too! Some insects kill others of the same species as part of their mating ritual.

We’ve turned wild murderous animals into plush toys and Disney movies but in the wild animals are not quite that nice. Have the experts not seen two mountain goats go head to head to see who got the goat. The female goat, that is. Even if they didn’t kill each other I bet they both had a headache that made them wonder if a roll in the hay was worth it. I own a bronze called “To Sire The Herd” which basically shows two wild stallions attempting to kill each other.

Roosters kill each other in cockfights and some raptors regularly eat the eggs of other birds. If that isn’t murder in the first degree it’s at least manslaughter. And did you know that all those spotted owls we had to shut down the forestry industry in the great northwest to save, well, researchers now say those spotted owls are being killed off by their own kind. Barred owls are not only stealing their nests, researchers have witnessed them murder their cousins in cold blood.

There are countless other myths that have been debunked since I went to school. For one, we were taught that humans are the only species that uses tools. Which makes one wonder, was one of the qualifications that they wore a tool belt and bought tools off the Snap-On truck? Researchers have since discovered that chimps, elephants, dolphins, sea otters, gorillas and crocodiles are just a few of the animals that are better with tools than your average recent college graduate.

Another little snippet I remember reading was that humans are the only ones who are empathetic and generous. Now we know that capuchin monkeys like to both give and receive and that elephants show their empathy by mourning their dead for longer periods than most heirs to great fortunes do.

We were also taught that humans are the only ones who can love and hate the same person but cattle can do that. We know they hate cowboys at branding time but don’t you know they love those very same cowboys during a three day North Dakota blizzard when the cowboys haul hay to them?

One factoid I’m suspicious of is that humans are the only ones who can experience joy and a knowledge of the future. Have the scientists never seen the look on the face of a bull after he’s bred a cow? You can’t tell me that’s not joy. As for them having no knowledge of the future, why do you think rogue open cows go to such lengths to avoid being caught and sent to town?

After a lifetime of doing my own research I’ve come to the conclusion that I agree more with Maxine of Hallmark® card fame more than I do the experts. Maxine says, “Sometimes I think the only thing that separates us from animals is the fact that animals don’t have near the selection when it comes to hair products as we do.”

 

JUST A LITTLE LIGHT Miltonvale’s Own Tom, Dick, and Harry

By
Dawn Phelps
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by Dawn Phelps 

Miltonvale, Kansas, is the only town I know of that can boast of their very own “Tom, Dick, and Harry.”  Their parents, Wilburma and Ray Phelps were married in Miltonvale, Kansas, on Flag Day, June 14, 1936, and that’s where the story began.

Someone once asked Tom where the term “Tom, Dick, and Harry” originated, and Tom told them he was not sure.  So, after a little searching, perhaps I can shed some light on the subject.

The term is usually used to mean “everyone” or “anyone,” such as any “Tom, Dick, or Harry.”  The term is an old one, dating back to England in 1583 when Shakespeare used the term “Tom, Dick, and Francis” in some of his writing.

“Francis?” you might ask.  Yes, “Francis” was first used instead of “Harry.”  Next was “Dick, Tom and Jack.”  Then an English theologian named John Owen used the term “Tom, Dick, and Harry” in 1657, and the term seems to have stuck and is still used today.

In the musical “Kiss Me, Kate,” there is a song entitled “Tom, Dick, and Harry.”  Three mountain peaks in the Cascade Range of Oregon are named Tom, Dick, and Harry, and there was a film named “Tom, Dick, and Harry” in 1941.

In 1910 a story was printed in an Arkansas newspaper using the term “Tom, Dick, and Harry,” but I will not vouch for the authenticity of the story.  The story is about an extremely stressed lady, Wilma Frederick, of Beagle, Arkansas, who was under enormous financial pressure. 

According to the story, Wilma had just been to court and had been ordered to pay $5,000 to the city.  She left the courtroom in quite an angry mood, hopped into her car, drove wildly down Main Street, and struck three brothers who were crossing the street.  She did not even try to avoid hitting them.

Their names were “Tom, Dick, and Harry,” and all three supposedly died later that night in the hospital.

When a reporter asked Wilma if she was sorry for what she had done, Wilma replied, “I can’t be responsible for every Tom, Dick, and Harry who walks in front of my car.  I’ve got my own problems.”

I am unsure of the truth of the “Wilma” story, but I do have the scoop on Miltonvale’s Tom, Dick, and Harry.  Thomas Roy Phelps was born April 2, 1939, and was named after both of his grandfathers, Roy Phelps and Thomas Flear.

When Wilburma was expecting her second baby, Tom remembers wanting to name him “Dick,” if the baby were a boy.  Tom said he was at first upset when Wilburma and Ray said that they would name a baby boy “Richard.”  But Tom says that when Ray and Wilburma explained that he could still call Richard “Dick,” then he was all right with the name Richard.

Dick was born September 18, 1943, and was named Richard Ray for his father Ray.  When Wilburma was again expecting a baby, Ray and the family agreed that they needed a “Harry,” preferably not a “Harriet” to fit with Tom and Dick.  (“Harriet” is the female form of “Harry.”)  The parents said that if he were a girl, they would name him Harriet.  

Sure enough, on January 8, 1953, Harry, a chubby little baby, was born and was named Harry Lee.  Dick recalls thinking it was great to have a baby brother named Harry.

The name “Thomas” is a very old name, meaning “twin,” with Greek origin.  Thomas was the name of one of the twelve Apostles in Bible times.  Tom was the owner of Phelps Funeral Home and Furniture Store for many years.  Tom retired on April 1, 2009.  I am married to Tom—the best, I believe.

The name “Richard” has its origin from the English and means “brave ruler.”  Dick was the owner of the Miltonvale Record for many years and is married to Deanna.  She would probably argue she is married to the best Phelps.

The name Harry has a Germanic origin and means “house owner or lord of the manor.  Harry lives in one of the Miltonvale Manor apartments after moving back from Oregon several years ago.  

The three boys, now older men, get together for coffee at the Kountry Kafe in the morning and for tea in the afternoon almost every day.  (In the future, I might share a couple more stories about them.)

So, there you have it!  The story of Tom, Dick, and Harry of Miltonvale, three wonderful men, named by their father Ray and mother Wilburma.  The story has brought smiles to many faces during the years when people hear the names of their sons—Thomas, Richard, and Harry—yes, Miltonvale’s very own “Tom, Dick, and Harry!”

 

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