How to dry a decorative pumpkin for crafts?

One of the directions of amateur creativity, which is gaining popularity, is crafts made from dried pumpkin. This natural material, in addition to the pleasure of implementing creative ideas, brings a small problem to the home master: how to dry a pumpkin so that products from it can be stored for as long as possible? With inadequate preparation, such a problem can nullify all the efforts of those who made crafts from half-dried pumpkin.

Characteristics of raw materials for crafts

Not today, craftsmen came up with the idea of ​​using pumpkin as a material for creativity. What are the traditions of making attributes from it for Halloween? The creation of dishes from decorative pumpkins in the republics of the North Caucasus and Central Asia has been practiced for several centuries. It is believed that the water in such dishes does not deteriorate for a long time, does not heat up in the heat, and even helps in the treatment of diabetes.

For crafts of modern designers, a decorative pumpkin of two common types is used.

• Cucurbita - small bright fruits of cheerful red, orange and golden colors. Beautiful in themselves as an element of the decor of the autumn garden, such pumpkins can serve as material for the manufacture of lanterns, flower pots. The disadvantage of this material is that its bright colors turn pale after a few months.
• Lagenaria - it is from them that it is so easy to make a bottle, a vase, a bucket and much, much more. The hard crust of this species changes color over time from green to golden yellow or light brown.

In order to show your creative abilities, to throw out a charge of ideas, there is nothing better than hand-made crafts. It is especially pleasant to work with such natural material as pumpkin, it is so expressive and plastic.

How to harvest?

A lot depends on this event - it is impossible to conduct a quality drying process using spoiled material.

Gathering material for decor in the garden, you need to follow a certain technology.

1. Harvested after the stems of the plant have dried and become brown.
2. The fruits are removed by cutting the stem at a distance of 6-10 cm from the plant, without breaking it off at the base.
3. Damaged, rotten, spoiled pumpkins are rejected - their place on the compost heap.
   

   Tip

   The fruit should have an ideal appearance, since even a small spot of rot can capture a large area in a few weeks.

4. No need to wait for the onset of frost in order to collect slightly unripe decorative pumpkins - their color can change for the worse.

Large specimens intended for food and feed purposes, it is almost impossible to dry because of the large amount of dense bulk pulp. We'll have to leave them for delicious cereal, candied baked pumpkin and a carriage for Cinderella.

Is it possible to dry a pumpkin quickly?

The answer is categorical - no, no, and again no. Quickly and evenly, for several days, drying the pumpkin in the oven, in the microwave, or in the electric dryer will not work. It may seem that the pumpkin has dried because it has a hard peel, but in addition to the peel, the pulp must be evenly dried. This can take several months, and the flesh of Lagenaria dries twice as long as the flesh of Cucurbita.

If you need to do a craft for a short time

For numerous autumn contests in kindergartens and schools, you can make a spectacular craft using pumpkins dried at home in a short time. The disadvantage of this method is that the craft will not last 2-3 weeks. But if such a goal was not originally set, then you can try to extend the life of the product.

To do this, cut off the top of the fetus and completely remove its flesh. For this operation, you can use a construction scraper, a spoon and other devices.

Tip

To disinfect the inside of the pumpkin, wipe it with alcohol or vodka with a sponge.

Then the scraped and disinfected fruit is stuffed with newspapers and placed where it is dry and warm - on the windowsill of the sunny side of the house or apartment, on the cupboard. This “stuffing” needs to be changed as the newspapers get wet, about 2-3 times a day. The duration of such drying is 2-3 days. This will happen much more slowly if the room temperature is less than 22 ⁰С.

Preparation for continuous drying

Before you dry the pumpkin for crafts, it must be properly prepared. The surface of the fetus is washed with soapy water and dried well. Then the pumpkin is rubbed with alcohol or any other alcohol-containing liquids.

After that, the decor material is transferred for a week to a well-ventilated room, isolated from direct sunlight. There, the pumpkin remains until the color of the shell changes. This usually occurs in 1-2 weeks. The hardening and darkening of the shell is an indicator that the surface of the pumpkin has dried.

Final drying

Here you need to have patience, which should be enough for a period of at least 6 months. It is during this time that a decorative pumpkin will gain the hardness of a wooden product. For high-quality drying, you need to choose a well-ventilated dark room. It is there that the fruits are laid out at home, or better, the fruits are hung.

Tip

If the fruits will be dried in a lying position, it is advisable to provide air access by placing them on a surface with ventilation holes.

At the beginning of drying, you need to check the safety of the fruits daily, and, not sparing, discard those that began to deteriorate, soften and frown. Small mold islands can be removed with bleach or a dry cloth. Such a measure will help if there is hard bark under the mold.

Every 1-2 weeks, the fruits need to be rotated to dry evenly and prevent decay. An indication that the drying is over will be the rustling sound of seeds when shaken, and the pumpkins themselves will become hard and light. If the decorative pumpkin has become rough or has begun to peel off, it can be sanded with sandpaper just like any wood product.

After this process, requiring remarkable patience, you can begin creative work on decorating pumpkins. Now you can paint it, varnish, carving, elements for decorating this natural material. The service life of such a product is unlimited.