I don't have a clue as to how long it might last.
I've heard of a few pumpkins drying out, and becoming sort of a "hard shell", but that's very rare.
Pick it up, carefully, and notice whether it is as heavy as it was last fall. If its not, it will probably be pretty fragile. Have a bucket handy in case you need to get rid of it in a hurry.
If it is still heavy, I doubt the insides would be usable.

Let us know how it is.

Jan

I also can only say - it depends.

Big Max is a cucurbita maxima and the longest storing squash (pumpkin) are in that family. The colour of the skin does change in storage. That is normal, most squash/pumpkin change colour.

I have about 25 squash left in storage (on the windowsill in the living room) which we will eat until about the end of May. But they are not big exhibition pumpkins like Big Max, but culinary winter squashes which are more compact, more dense fleshed etc.

I doubt very much that Big Max would be all dried out. Ornamental gourds do that and of the eating squashes I only know that Yellow Crookneck dries out.

If your Big Max hasn't started rotting, then the insides are still perfectly edible. It won't have quite the delicious flavour of some of the speciality squashes (for example buttercup or kabocha), but will be perfectly good for soup or for adding to risotto etc. It will also make good pumpkin bread. And good pie. And peeled and cubed it will freeze so you don't have to use it all at once.

Enjoy your pumpkin, check it frequently and don't leave it storing much longer. By the way, you can also roast the large seeds for a nice snack.

I have a "Long Island Cheese" Pumpkin that was given to me about a week ago. Will it keep for a few weeks until I have a chance to make a pie with it? or will it be no good by next month?

Yes it is in the class of winter squash which all last for many months after harvesting. I have had cheese pumpkins last over a year as well. It will CERTAINLY last a few weeks. If it was ripe when picked (a deep tan color) and has no nicks, scrapes or bruises it will last a good many months.

After the 2010 Halloween I found 5 big pumkins in a garbage pick-up pile, not even touched with a knife. I still have one and it has no bad spots or anything. I've used the others for soup n pies. This is 3-11-2011. Not all will last this long though.

I have a beautiful pumpkin still rich in color and solid sitting on my hardwood floor at the foot of my stairway in my townhouse. During the third week of October 2010, I accompanied my seven year old niece on a school field trip to a pumpkin patch farm in Moorpark,California. I chose my pumkin which is about six pounds in weight, and the children were each allowed to pick theirs from a group of smaller pumpkins.

I have learned from reading your entries that if kept in a cool spot, they last longer. I guess that's why my pretty pumkin is still thriving. I'm happy to report that I came home with my pumpkin on October 20, so day after tomorrow it will be with me for 6 months!

I guess this week I will make my first pumkin pie!!

I bought some seeds for an indoor container vegetable garden; seeds were on sale at a new Menards that had just opened up so I went a little bit crazy and bought way more than I would possibly need, unless I started an outdoor garden as well.

Just for funsies, I planted a "Early Sweet Sugar Pie" pumpkin seed by Burpee. The thing sprouted REALLY fast and is HUGE compared to everything else I planted!

Since I just found out our last frost date is around April 20-30th (the snow today in lower Michigan is a testament to that fact!) I was contemplating making one 4 by 4 foot planter (or smaller) for outside growing. My question is, the seed packet says about 90 days to harvest. I'm also wondering how long the pumpkins would last -- if I am able to grow them, of course.

The thought of having my very own, home-grown pumpkins for Halloween is a fabulous one! Does anyone know how long that variety of pumpkin would last for? If not, if I sowed another seed/plant in July, would it grow OK for my zone (NW Indiana, zone 5-6 from what I've read) and produce pumpkins to be had for display/carving/pumpkin pies for Halloween?

Thanks for helping this nub out...:)

my boyfriend planted some small pumpkins in may.i picked 5 of them today. how long will they last?

What kind of pumpkin was it? Like a Jack-be-little or a sugar pumpkin. Was it fully ripe? It is pretty early for pumpkins though I have some Jack-be-little that I planted mid May that aren't too far from being ripe.

Pumpkins have the potential of lasting a really long time, I actually still have Jack-be-littles from last fall. But not all will last that long, many factors afect the life of them. Such as ripeness, disease on the plant, damages to the fruit, storage temperature and humidity.

If the pumpkins aren't fully ripe they might last a month. If all is well they will last until fall. Just be sure not to damage the fruit and it will last a long time. You need to be gentle with them and not get scrapes or bruises on them, which would cause them to rot quickly. Just keep them in a cool dry place (like a basement) and they'll be happy.

We have a pumpkin that is 1 year and 6 months old! Looks good yet and does not appear to be hollow inside. It is really cool, just have it on the mainfloor, in living room. We are just waiting it out now to see how long it will last! We also had 2 other ones that lasted a little over a year but rotted shortly before Thanksgiving of this past year.