Pumpkin

Pumpkin is the most vigorous plant of this group of Cucurbits and grows on long vines which spread out over the ground and even climb up trellises and onto rooves, if given guidance and adequate support (especially when they fruit as their size can snap the somewhat delicate stem (which is hollow)). Training pumpkins over rooves saves a great deal of space and can also prevent the mature pumpkins from rotting due to resting for too long on wet ground.

It is important to make sure that the base of the vine has plenty of rich soil and/or compost around it as they are one of the heaviest feeders of all vegetables. So prepare piles of organic matter, horse manure, chicken manure, sugar cane mulch or lucerne hay and even grass clippings before you plant your seed. You can make this pile very thick, though try and avoid using to much fresh stuff, or if you do, wait a few weeks before planting. They also need regular water and fertilising during the entire length of there growing season. This attention is especially important during their initial growth and I have noticed that vines that do best have been planted at the end of spring (in the sub-tropics) or the start of summer in cooler areas at a time of heavy rain. Initial heavy rain and high humidity and temperature (soil temperature over 25 degrees Celsius is ideal) will see a plant take off at incredible speed. It is also important to allow for adequate time to grow in cooler climates as they require most of summer and autumn to grow successfully. Most take between 75 and 100 days to mature, so in these areas, it is best to plan ahead and to try and grow varieties which have been successful in the climate before.

In sub-tropical climates, with longer summers and higher rainfall, you are a little bit more flexible. In Brisbane, Australia, pumpkins take over during the summer months when few other vegetables would flourish. The main thing to remember is rich, rich soil, very similar to what you would give watermelons or corn. Pumpkins don't seem to have the problem of splitting open during hot weather, as watermelons do, so they can be more successfully grown in full sun.

If you choose good storing pumpkins such as Queensland Blue, Gold Nugget, Warted Hubbard, Sweet Mamma, Golden Acorn or Kentucky Field, you'll be able to feed yourself for most of the year.

Some other good varieties to keep your eye out for are Etamples, a lovely old French variety with exceptional flavour, Halloween Voodoo Pumpkin, a very psycho pumpkin which may cause harm, Kumikuri (possibly pictured above) from Japan, Ebony Acorn, which probably originated from the Arikara tribe in North Dakota, and has very dark skin and sweet flesh, and Sweet Dumpling, which has small fruits (around 10 cm in diameter) and loves to climb.

There are many varieties which mature a little quicker than most, so in climates with short summers it is best to look around your local area for seed. Old gardeners are the best bet and most will have a stock of seed which I'm sure they can be persuaded to share.

Pumpkins cross-pollinate very easily so if you want to make sure you are keeping the variety you have pure, take measures to isolate it from different varieties. The Seed Savers Network recommend a distance of about 400 metres between different varieties, but also make sure that you have a few of the same variety in close proximity to allow for proper pollination and to keep the strain strong.

Halloween voodoo pumpkins

A quick and uncomprehensive guide to difference in species in the genus Curcubita:

Pumpkins, Squash and Zucchini all belong to the genus Cucurbita and all originate in North and South America.

Cucurbita maxima usually describes larger pumpkins, Cucurbita moschata for many Butternut varieties and Cucurbita pepo for many of the small ones, and squash. Zucchini is usually of the species pepo.