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Plan Ahead for Fall: Plant Pumpkins!
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Halloween and Thanksgiving may seem a world away from these warming spring days, but for many of us, the frost will be on the Pumpkin in a little over 100 days. But that means there's enough time to plant some Pumpkins! It's as simple as pushing magical little seeds into rich soil.
Every front porch is welcoming with Pumpkins of all sizes and complexions nestled among pots of
Ornamental Kale and mums embellished with branches of drying
Chinese Lanterns. But that's not the only reason to grow Pumpkins. While all
Pumpkins are edible, some varieties are more flavorful and have a better texture than others. These are the ones we grow for wintertime soups, stews and festive desserts.
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Growing a Productive Pumpkin Patch
Growing
Pumpkins
is easy~all they need is warmth, sun, water and plenty of space to ramble. The seeds can be started early indoors, but it works best to sow them directly into the garden anytime after the last frost and before mid-June.
Pumpkins are hungry plants, so before sowing the seeds, make sure to enrich the planting area with organic fertilizer, compost and/or well-rotted manure. Direct-sow three to five seeds per hill, then thin to the two strongest seedlings. Water regularly and feed as needed with kelp or fish emulsion. (Powdery mildew on the leaves is common and nothing to worry about.)
Harvest your
Pumpkins once they have colored up and before the first real fall frost. Use a sharp knife, leaving a 2-inch stem at the top.
Pumpkins that are to be stored for use in savory comfort food or sweet treats over the winter should be cured in the sun for 10 days (protect them from frost) or placed in a warm, dry room for five to seven days. Once cured, store them in a cool, dry place.
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Pick a Pumpkin for Your Patch
We offer seeds for Pumpkins in a wide range of flavors, colors and sizes perfect for both warm and welcoming autumn displays and mouth-watering and tummy-filling dishes and desserts. Set aside some space in your veggie garden for more than one so that you can enjoy both Jack-o-lanterns and Pumpkin pies!
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90-110 days. Cucurbita moschata. Fairytale is as beautiful as it is delicious. This 1899 heirloom is from the south of France. Looking a bit like a wheel of cheese, it ranges from 12" to 18" in diameter and up to 20 pounds. It ripens from green to magnificent shades of burnt sienna on 10' -long vines. Fairytale has an exceedingly long shelf life. Its dense orange flesh makes great Pumpkin puree. (OP.)
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110-120 days. Cucurbita maxima. As in many parts of the world, Pumpkin is a staple in South Africa, where this is the variety of choice. Treasured for its bright orange flesh, sweet flavor and firm, slightly dry texture, this heirloom Pumpkin has a flattened oval shape and a tough, creamy-white rind that makes it a legendary keeper. Give the plants lots of room as they're both vigorous and prolific. (OP.)
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100-110 days. Cucurbita pepo. This ravishing beauty was developed in 1972 by the U.S.D.A. for the prize of its naked seeds: they are hulless, therefore we can happily escape the tedious process of removing Pumpkin seed coats. The ornamental orange and green striped Pumpkins weigh between 4 and 8 pounds, with 12 to 15 fruit per plant. Each Pumpkin contains about one pound of seeds. (OP.)
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115 days. Cucurbita pepo. A true jack-o'-lantern Pumpkin, Howden's Field Pumpkin is the industry standard for productive Pumpkin harvests. One terrific carving Pumpkin, it has long, productive vines and large, uniform fruits that grow up to 25 pounds. The fruits have attractive, deeply-ridged, orange skin and wonderful dark green stems. Primarily a decorative Pumpkin, its baked flesh can also be used for pies and soups. (OP.)
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110 days. Cotton Candy Pumpkin is a glossy, milky-white color unique among the Pumpkin family! Cotton Candy produces loads of lustrous Pumpkins on sturdy, medium-sized vines. A classic Pumpkin shape, Cotton Candy is a slightly ribbed oval growing from 5- to 12-pounds. It is perfect for Halloween painting and carving as well as for use in the kitchen: its milky-white meat is sweet and most tasty. (OP.)
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120-130 days. Cucurbita maxima. Slightly flattened and dramatically lobed, Rouge d'Etampes is a treasured heirloom from France. It is an intense auburn-red color. Each sprawling vine produces four to six Pumpkins, averaging 15" diameter and weighing 15 to 20 pounds. Rouge d'Etampes is ideal for cooking; the flesh is thick and firm, the seed cavity is small and it has more flavor than most Pumpkins. (OP.)
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90-100 days. Cucurbita moschata. Named for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese, this classic American heirloom dates back to the early 1800's when it was the favored variety for sweet Pumpkin pies. Weighing in at six to ten pounds, it has smooth, ribbed, pale cheese colored skin and exalted, sweet deep-orange flesh. Easy to grow, it is cold-tolerant and an amazingly long-keeper: some claim that they have stored this long-lasting beauty for up to a year! A great addition to the Pumpkin patch. (OP.)
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90-100 days. Cucurbita pepo. One heck of a cute little white Pumpkin, Gooligan will be almost anything you want. Your children can paint faces on them, you can use them for tabletop or mantle fall decorations and you can bake or roast them in much the same way as you would miniature Acorn Squash. Easy-to-grow Gooligan produces vigorous vines with oodles of perfect little 6" white orbs from 1/4 to 1 pound. Since the fruits are so small, only up to 6" in diameter, it may be trellised where it looks like hanging garden jewelry. (F1)
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100-105 days. Cucurbita pepo. AKA Small Sugar. An 1863 American heirloom, New England Pie is the best variety for small jack-o-lanterns and pie making. It yields loads of 8" to 10" wide, bright orange Pumpkins weighing in at just five to eight pounds. Unsurpassed for use in pies, soups, stews and roasted vegetable platters, New England Pie has quintessential sweet, fine-grained, stringless, thick yellow flesh. (OP.)
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New! 130 days. Cucurbita maxima. Almost every prize-winning Pumpkin ever grown can be traced back to Dill's Atlantic Giant seed. This is the go-to variety for growing jumbo Pumpkins. The world record biggest Pumpkin weighed 2,096.6 pounds and was grown by a Swiss accountant in 2014. Wowzers! While it was likely grown from a private strain of Dill's, these seeds may still yield 300-500-lb Pumpkins. Dust off the forklift! (OP.)
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100-120 days. Cucurbita pepo. This exciting, rare mixture is from Bob Koennders at Michigan's Backyard Bouquet Farm. After 10 years of work, Bob's special mixture contains unique varieties with ornate patterns, colors, shapes and sizes that bare little semblance to their Pumpkin parents. Pumpkins range from long, tall 25-pounders to stackable 3-to 5-pounders. (OP.)
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120 days. Cucurbita pepo. The perfect variety for the children's garden, these petite Pumpkins weigh in at one half to one pound. Wee Be Little is produced on a bush, taking up less space than the big, rambling types. Eight feet is enough to grow loads of little Pumpkins, perfect for carving by young ones. The flesh is thick, tasty and sweet, making Wee Be Little great for cooking. (OP.)
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More Autumn Loveliness to Direct-Sow Now
Plan ahead for fall displays by growing some of these veggies and flowers that will complement your Pumpkins perfectly in fall centerpieces and front porch displays.
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110-120 days. Cucurbita maxima. This Australian beauty has deep lobes and a hard, shiny skin. Weighing in up to 10 pounds, Triamble's deep orange flesh is thick, succulent and sweet. (OP.)
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Physalis alkekengi var. franchetti.
A Tomatillo relative, Chinese Lanterns are prized for their decorative, bright orange pods. Cut the stems in late summer as soon as the pods color up and dry them.
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Lunaria annua. Money Plant's seed pods are flattened and the size and shape of a silver dollar. They dry from green to shimmering silver and are wonderful in dried flower arrangements.
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New! Xeranthemum annuum. A dreamy dried flower, Immortelle is an excellent everlasting with daisy-like flowers. Our mix is a medley of double flowers in shades of pink and white.
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New! 100-110 days. Cucurbita maxima. A classic that's both beautiful and delicious! It grows up to 15 pounds with a hard outer shell and sweet, fine golden flesh. (OP.)
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New!
While the burgundy-kerneled ears of this ornamental corn are lovely, you'll most likely grow it for its spectacular foliage: green brilliantly striped with pink, cream and yellow.
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New! Its deep burgundy blades grow quickly, forming a hefty mass of easy-care drama. In mid-summer it shoots forth fat, fuzzy flower spikes.
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New! Glass Gem is the rock star of the ornamental corn world. The translucent kernels look like intensely colorful glass beads Great for autumn displays!
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Our Small Fruited Gourds are commonly seen decorating fall fireplace mantels and dining tables and Thanksgiving cornucopias.
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85-100 days.
Cucurbita maxima. This classic heirloom produces 3- to 5-pound, blocky fruits with a thin deep green rind. The flesh is deep orange, smooth and richly sweet. (OP.)
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This German bi-color Sunflower has 5", bright russet-red flowers uniformly tipped in yellow and dotted with dark mahogany centers. Low pollen and branching stems!
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90-100 days.
Cucurbita maxima. This heirloom is a 10- to 20-pound flattened globe sprinkled with peanut-shaped bumps. It has orange flesh that is silky, moist, exceptionally sweet. (OP.)
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We share our best-of-the-best
recipes
in our online cookbook so you can feed your family and friends well without feeling frenzied, and practical, hands-on
Horticultural Tips
to demystify gardening with seeds. It's not tricky or difficult: it's more like easy magic.
If you need help with anything, our office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can email us at
[email protected]
or call us at (860) 567-6086. Lance Frazon, our seed specialist, is happy to help you in any way possible. He loves to talk seeds.
23 Tulip Drive * PO Box 638 * Bantam, CT 06750
Phone: (860) 567-6086 * Fax: (860) 567-5323
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