What is easy to grow; comes in sizes from less than a pound to over 600 pounds; has been worshipped and written into legends and plays; inspires whole families to see and buy; is very high in vitamin A; can be cooked, canned, baked, carved, made into a pie, a Jack-O'-lantern, soup, casseroles, bread, cookies, seed snacks, cattle feed, and even a golden coach for Cinderella? The answer to this overwhelming question is... a pumpkin of course!
References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name appears to originate from the Greek word for "large melon", which is "pepon". This was nasalized by the French into "pompon". The British changed that to "pumpion", to which Shakespeare refers in his Merry Wives of Windsor. Finally, the American colonists changed it into "pumpkin", where it is referred to in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Cinderella.
Botanically, there is no such thing as a pumpkin. Pumpkins are certain varieties of squash which through local traditions and use have come to be called pumpkins. Squash and pumpkins belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, which also contains cucumbers, melons and gourds. The varieties of squash most often considered pumpkins are found in four species of the genus Cucurbita: C. pepo, C. maxima, C. mixta, and C. moschata.
Planting Pumpkin
Pumpkins are warm-season vegetables that require soil and air temperatures to be above 60°F before they will thrive outdoors. Seeds planted too early could rot in cold ground. Young plants exposed to 2 or 3 nights of 45–50°F temperatures may become stunted from chilling injury. Pumpkins are usually direct-seeded into the soil because they do not transplant well. Late May to mid-June is the best time to plant in most northern states. The danger of frost is past and the pumpkins will be mature when they are needed in September and October.
Pumpkins will grow in most soils, if they are well drained. They will not tolerate low areas with water-logged soil. Sandy loams with high organic matter for good moisture retention are best. Heavier soils with more clay, or lighter soils with more sand can be improved by adding peat moss, compost, aged manure, humus, or other forms of organic matter. The pH should be maintained from slightly acid to neutral. Slightly alkaline soils have been productive in Western states. Very acid soils should be limed or avoided. Your soil can be tested for pH, nutrient levels, soil type, and fertilizer recommendations. See your county agent for more information on testing.
Pumpkins can be planted in hills or drilled in rows. A hill is a circular depression with soil mounded a few inches up around the circumference. Three or four seeds are planted 6 inches apart and 1 inch deep in the center. These are later thinned to the 2 strongest plants per hill. Hills should be 3–6 feet apart within the rows, with the rows 5–10 feet apart. Plants drilled in rows should be 1.5–3 feet apart in the rows, with the rows 5–10 feet apart, and planted 1.5 inches deep. Large-fruited and long-vined varieties should be given the maximum amounts of space. Bush and semi-bush varieties can be planted closer together. Soil fertility also affects spacing. The more fertile the soil, the less space each plant requires.
Feeding Pumpkin
Additional fertilizer broadcast or side-dressed is recommended when the plants are beginning to set fruit. In the home garden the 5-10-5 fertilizer can be sprinkled on at the rate of 1 cup over every 25 square feet of pumpkin plants, or manure tea can be fed to each hill.
Watering Pumpkin
Pumpkins are about 90% water and need a lot to develop into large fruit. They are also subject to many foliar diseases that can be spread by overhead or sprinkler irrigation. In the home garden, a gallon of water each week at the base of the plant is recommended if the rainfall is less than one inch that week. Mulch applied after the soil has warmed is helpful for moisture retention.
Rolling Pumpkins
Most pumpkins acquire one flat, warty, unattractive side from being in direct contact with the ground while growing. Decay organisms can sometimes enter the fruit here, causing it to rot, especially if the ground is wet. To prevent these ground spots, fruits can be rolled over once or twice during the growing season; or they can be taken out of direct contact with the ground. Place a small box, board, newspaper, mulch, or other material under each fruit to prevent them from touching the ground.
Insect Pests
The most common insect pests of pumpkins are cucumber beetles, squash bugs and vine borers.
Cucumber beetles are narrow, 1/3 inch long, yellow and black spotted or striped beetles that chew holes in the leaves and cotyledons and spread bacterial wilt. In the home garden they may be controlled with consistent hand-picking and soap sprays, but they are very mobile and require diligent control measures. An insecticide may have to be used. Mechanical shields such as cheese cloth or a box placed upside-down over the seedlings, anchored by burying the flaps, with the bottom replaced by screen, will shield out all three pests until plants are well established. When the shields are removed, place potted catnip and tansy around the plants to further discourage cucumber beetles.
Squash bugs are large, dark brown, flat-bodied bugs that suck sap from the vines around the base of the plants. They hide under foliage and are not very active. Handpicking is an excellent control method in the home garden. Where this is impractical, an insecticide may have to be used.
Vine borers tunnel into the stem and cause the vine to wilt from the contact point to the tip. If these insects are a problem, an insecticide should be applied once each week for 3 or 4 weeks, beginning 3 weeks after planting. If wilting is noticed, look for piles of sawdust-like material at the base of the plant. Slit the stem until you find a white grub and kill it. The vine should recover and continue growing. Removing stalks and vines from the field in the fall should reduce infestation in coming years.
Disease Problems
Powdery mildew is a fungus disease that often appears on squash and pumpkin leaves late in the season. It looks like white patches of dusting powder scattered on the leaves. It can be controlled chemically if it appears early in the season, but often it is so late that it does not affect the fruit.
Harvest Pumpkin
Pumpkins should stay on the vine as long as possible, especially pie and canning pumpkins, because cool weather increases their sugar content and storage life. However, heavy frost will damage their tissue and allow decay organisms to enter. If storage time is important, harvest just before a heavy frost. To assure that every fruit is of harvestable size, the vines can be pruned a few weeks before harvest. Cut off the vine just after the last pumpkin that looks large enough to ripen in the next few weeks.
To harvest, pumpkins should be cut leaving some vine attached. Do not carry pumpkins by the stem. If a stem breaks off the decorative value of the fruit is lost and the storage life is greatly reduced. Be careful not to bruise fruit or puncture the shells while harvesting. This will also shorten storage life.
Storing Pumpkin
For maximum storage ability, do not stack pumpkins in a pile. Arrange them on shelves or close together but with ventilation space around each one, and keep them dry. Ideal conditions are 50–55°F temperature and 50–75% relative humidity. Pumpkins may also be cured by placing them, soon after harvest, in a 75–80°F area with good air circulation for 2 weeks, then reducing the temperature.
For home gardeners, this may be difficult, but any place where the temperature is not over 60°F or under 40°F and the humidity is not over 75% will suffice. An attic, a dry basement, an unheated extra room, or a closed garage are very good storage areas. A furnace room, or between a stove and refrigerator may be excellent for curing.
Cooking Pumpkin
Pumpkin is quite nutritious and a low calorie vegetable. It is 90% water, 1% protein, has small amounts of the B vitamins, and vitamin C. It contains 1,600 units of vitamin A. The darker orange-fleshed varieties have even more vitamin A. This is a considerable amount, with only carrots, winter squash, and certain cole crops containing more. It is well worth using in baked goods, as a soup base or in casseroles and other main dishes.
The Indians roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. Colonists sliced off the top and cleaned out the seeds, then replaced the top and roasted the whole pumpkin in hot ashes, or filled the inside with milk, spices and honey and baked it in the hot ashes. This was probably the origin of pumpkin pie.
