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exploding pumpkin
danny oshea
Posts: 17
in Talkback
Hi every one
yet another daft question that i need help with .........
the other day i gave my freinds little boy a pumpkin for halloween . after 3 days of it being left in the window , the bloody thing exploded . does anybody no the reason why? the pumpkin was about the size of a large grapefruit and was a white skinnned variety , i believe they were called snow globe . all suggesttions greatly received ha ha
0
Posts
Perhaps the sugars in the flesh of the pumpkin were beginning to ferment a little and the added heat on the windowsill caused a buildup of gases, just like making cider or beer turn fizzy.
It could have been slightly damaged (eg tiny insect hole) and infected by a yeast spore - the warm windowsill would effectively make it start fermenting inside and when the pressure got too great - bang! Same as a bottle of wine will if fermentation hadn't stopped and it was bottled too early (that happened to me - elderberry wine stains still visible in the garage after 20 years!)
that sounds reasonable any suggestions where i should put the rest off
my crop to store and ripen off
For most things, any cool, dry frost-free place out of direct sunlight is usually best.