Top Tips for Picking the Best Pumpkins

Everyone loves pumpkin picking season, but there's nothing worse than realising you've picked the wrong pumpkins at your local farm. Have a read below to distinguish the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly!

Visiting your local farm or pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin (or ten!) ready for Halloween season? Make sure you bag yourself the best pumpkins in the patch by reading our top pumpkin picking tips below!

The beauty of pumpkins is that there is such a large variety, from large to small, fat or thin and a whole range of colours to choose from too. 

Here are 5 top tips and things to consider when you're pumpkin picking at the farm or pumpkin patch:

• Focus on the pumpkin's colouring. Whether you're using your pumpkin to carve or you simply want to make a pumpkin pie, you can always guarantee that the pumpkins with the best colouring and markings will be best for whatever you need it for. Pumpkin farms usually grow a whole range of pumpkins, not just your typical round, orange ones - so keep your eyes peeled for something a little different.
• Make sure your pumpkins of choice sound hollow. When you're pumpkin picking, give your chosen pumpkin a little knock with your ear up to it and listen for a deep, hollow sound. If this is what you get - you've found a good pumpkin. All the best pumpkins sound echoey and hollow when tapped, and the deeper the sound, the better!
• Check your pumpkin for firmness. The last thing you want is to take home a soft pumpkin which is likely to cave in when you're carving it. Check over your pumpkin of choice for any soft spots, and test its firmness by giving the skin of the pumpkin a poke with your finger. If you feel any sign of softness, don't pick that one!
• Pick pumpkins with green stems. A lesser-known fact about finding the best pumpkins comes down to the stems. It's very easy to miss the stem as you're focusing on the actual pumpkin, but they can tell you a lot. A green stem indicates the freshness of the pumpkin - the greener, the better! Try and avoid brown and dried out stems.
• Check your pumpkin for wounds. Finally - a more obvious tip - check your pumpkin all over for open 'wounds'. These will make your pumpkin rot a lot faster due to being exposed. If you can, pick a pumpkin that is fully in tact! 

So there we have it - our top picks for pumpkin picking at your local farm or pumpkin patch. If you're looking for places to go pumpkin picking here in Swindon, click here!