Fall Harvest of Pumpkins
Pumpkins are one of those vegetables that hybridizing really hasn't improved upon. Old fashioned pumpkins offer both variety and flavor. There are large jack-o'-lanterns and small, sweet cooking types. There's even the beautiful Cinderella pumpkin, the Rouge Vif d'Etampes. This French heirloom is a deeply ribbed, oblate shaped squash with very bold red-orange coloring. Not great for eating, but beautiful displayed as is or carved for Halloween.
Squash and pumpkin remains identified in Mexico date back to around 9000 B.C. They are a native plant and were one of the Native Americans' Three Sisters, along with corn and beans. Along the way to modern times, the wild varieties, which are thought to have been small and bitter tasting, evolved into the wonderful choice of selections we have today.
The terms squash and pumpkin are used interchangeably and don't denote any botanical classification. I' m told that in Australia, all squashes are called pumpkins. For our purposes, we'll consider pumpkins to be the roundish, orange varieties in the species Cucurbita pepo. C. pepo plants have prickly leaves and stems, which can cause dermatitis for some. This species also includes most summer squashes and several gourds. What they all have in common is that none are great keepers, although there are some pumpkins and gourds which prove to be exceptions.
The Small Sugar pumpkin, also known as Sugar Pie and New England Pie , is one of these exceptions. Supposedly given to the colonists by the Native Americans, the tough outer shells allowed them to be stored for most of the winter and provided a much needed food source. These are great little plants that don't sprawl throughout your garden, yet offer a high yield. They're great for baking or canning.
One of the oldest cultivated pumpkins in existence is Connecticut Field . This variety dates back to at least the 1600s and was probably grown by the Native Americans. Large, 15-25 lb. fruits are bright yellow-orange in color and slightly flattened at both ends. Unfortunately the flesh is rather course and stringy, but they make great jack-o'-lanterns.
Winter Luxury or Luxury Pumpkin Pie didn't come around until the 1890s. These vines will take over your garden, but reward you with 7-8 lb. orange pumpkins with juicy, tender and sweet flesh. This one is good for pies and canning and makes a good keeper.
There are a couple of interesting offshoots in the pumpkin category. The cymling or quash, a type of pattypan squash popular in the early 1800s, was
Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Fall Harvest of Pumpkins in Vegetable Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish Fall Harvest of Pumpkins in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
