Long before pumpkins were
turned into scary decorations, Europeans were hollowing out turnips and gourds
as candleholders for “Hallows” Eve.
When the tradition was carried to the New World
it was found that the pumpkins Native Americans grew made an excellent
substitute for turnips.
But pumpkins are good for
more than scary decorations. Pumpkins and squash are high in vitamins A and C
and potassium, as well as a good source of fiber. Pumpkins can be canned,
frozen or dried, or whole fruits can be stored. Pumpkin pie probably evolved from the way
early settlers would fill a hollowed out pumpkin with milk and sugar and let it
cook in the coals. Pumpkins can also be
roasted with meat and cooked in soups. The seeds can be removed and roasted or
boiled in salt water and dried.
Choosing pumpkin varieties
There are over fifty pumpkin
varieties on the market and most are decorative types. There are also special varieties of pumpkins
that are grown for producing seeds. For
Jack- O- Lanterns choose varieties such as ‘Howden' ‘Wolf,’ ‘Expert,’
‘Connecticut Field,’ or ‘Phantom.’ For large white pumpkins try ‘Lumina’ or
‘Full Moon’, ‘Rouge Vif D’Etampes’ is a
reddish, flattened Cinderella type, ‘One Too Many’ is orange and white striped,
‘Jamboree’ is blue-gray. For cooking
plant; ‘Amish Pie,’ ‘Winter Luxury,’ ‘Small Sugar’, or ‘New England Pie.’ Mini pumpkins include ‘Baby Boo,’ (white), ‘Wee Be Little,’ and ‘Jack Be Little.’ For huge competition pumpkins try ‘Dill’s
Atlantic Giant,’ ‘Wyatt’s Wonder,’ or ‘Prizewinner.’ (In northern states
you may want to start the large varieties inside.) ‘Kakai’ and ‘Snackjack’ produce hull-less
seeds for eating
Planting
In zone 6 and lower the quickest maturing varieties
should be chosen. Plants can also be started indoors a few weeks before your
last frost. Pumpkin seeds are generally
planted in the ground in after the danger of frost is over and the soil is
warm. Mounding the soil and covering it
with black plastic a week or so before planting pumpkins there will warm the
soil and get plants off to a good start.
Pumpkins must have full sun
to grow well. They prefer rich, fertile
soil with lots of organic matter.
Pumpkins are heavy feeders and benefit from a little 5-10 -5 fertilizer
worked into the soil at planting and fertilizing with a slow release fertilizer
about half way through your growing season.
Pumpkins need regular watering if rainfall is less than an inch a week. Try to water at the base of the plants and early
enough in the day so that the leaves dry before night, as pumpkins are
susceptible to fungal disease.
Unless you have lots of room,
don’t plant too many pumpkins. Each vine
will cover large amounts of space. Even
the mini pumpkins have large vines. The
pumpkin leaves are huge, with three lobes.
The vines are thick, dark green to black and both the leaves and vines
are covered with sticky, scratchy hairs.
Pumpkin blooms are golden yellow; male flowers start opening first, then
the females with the tiny pumpkin attached to the back of the flower begin to
open. The flowers need to be pollinated
by insects to produce pumpkins.
Removing some of the later fruits that start to develop will help the
first fruits grow larger.
As the pumpkin vines grow
longer, mound soil over them in various places. The vines will put some roots down there to
help feed the plant, which may save the plant if squash vine borers,
attack. These insects lay eggs on the
plants, which hatch into little worms that feed inside the pumpkin vine,
causing the leaves to wilt. Eventually
the plant will die beyond the damaged area.
If you notice your pumpkin vines wilting and the soil is moist, check the
vines for tiny holes with sawdust around them.
You can sometimes kill the worm with piece of wire, then mound soil over
the damaged area and save the plant.
Harvesting
Harvest pumpkins when the
leaves have been killed by the first frost. You can harvest earlier if the
fruit has a mature color and the rind is firm.
Cut the pumpkin from the vine leaving several inches of stem. Longer stems help pumpkins store better. Let them cure in a sunny area for a few days
if possible, then store out of the sun in a warm, dry area. Don’t let pumpkins freeze or they will turn
into mush. Pumpkins that are almost
ripe will continue to ripen a little after picking, but green pumpkins will not
turn orange after picking.
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