Pumpkins
Pumpkins
A sure sign that autumn is arriving is when you see piles of pumpkins in the stores. Large mounds of pumpkins arranged by size at the pumpkin farm allow children to pick the shape and size they want for Halloween. Today, this is probably the most popular use of Cucurbita pepo, Howden and Jack-O-Lantern a Connecticut field-type pumpkins.
Derived from the Greek word pepon meaning large melon, the word pumpkin went thru several changes. The French nasalized pepon into pompon, the English in turn pronounced it as pumpion and the American colonist (rebels that they were) changed it to pumpkin. Its long history dates back many centuries but originated in Central America.
There are many benefits to this Native American fruit (yes, it is considered a fruit). Pumpkins were used not only for food but medicine and other items. According to my HERBS book, the seeds were thought to expel worms and prevent prostate problems. The Native American used to roast seeds and strips of pumpkins on an open fire and eat them. They would also dry flattened strips and make mats out of them. Pumpkins were used for removing freckles and healing snake bites. The first pumpkins pie happened when Colonist cut the top off, removed the seeds, poured milk, spices and honey inside, then baked it in hot ashes. The pumpkin was then the crust, not the filling. Today, Pumpkins are still used as a vegetable, in soups, breads and pies. The flowers are edible and the seeds are still roasted and enjoyed as a delightful snack..
Pumpkins have come a long way; they vary in size, shape and color adding new avenues to creative decorations as well as culinary delights. Stemming from a large gene pool, some have been hybridized for unique shapes and coloration while others for their seeds, texture and flavor. Heirloom pumpkins seeds maintain the genetic bio-diversity that is important to future crops. Each unique variety that has been passed down for generations has developed some resistance to disease or pests which can be used to breed into modern varieties. The Seed Savers Exchange works diligently to preserve and save the genetic history of many crops from extinction. If you have some heirloom seeds to share, contact the Seed Exchange (seedsavers.org).
Need to know how to harvest & store your pumpkins?
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My kindergarten class wants to plant pumpkins for the fall. When do I start getting the soil ready and plant the seeds for beautiful pumpkins in the fall? Help!
Im growing 3 small sugar pumpkins plant. i woke up this morning and all the leaves where gone. there are still some at the base of one of the plants. i think an animal got to them. my question is will i still be able to get any pumpkins or should I just dig them up and start again next year.
IF I PICK OFF THE FLOWERS THAT DON’T HAVE PUMPKINS STARTING, WILL THAT HELP THE OTHER ONES GROW FASTER AND BIGGER?
i have pumpkins growing and the leaves looked great until a week ago now they are slowly dying out. i have about 7 pumpkins and they look great they’re turning orange already are they suppose to do this and will they make it till Halloween this is only 3rd week in Aug . is there something i can do to save them?
Hi, I grew pumpkins for my son last year but only 1 came, then the leaves went powdery white, the stem eventually black and the pumpkin died. Moved patch and have had more success this year with three pumpkins and one a good size (but still black). However, leaves are powdery white and stiff again and stems going black. Help! Don’t want to disappoint son for a second year. It’ll put him off gardening for good. Great site but please help Eddie
How do you tell a male flower from a female flower in melons in order to aid fertilization?
Should I use hay or some other kind of straw to keep pumpkins off the ground when growing to avoid rot?
Storing pumpkins
It’s early June, my pumpkins sprouted and grew just from leaving last years (store bought) pumpkins in the garden. I now have 3 beautiful orange pumpkins. When do I pick them? How do I keep them until fall? I live in Louisiana where it’s quite warm. Will they keep in my house?
Can I plant pumpkins in a container? If so, when should I transplant it?
I have planted crooked neck squash. The plants look healthy but when the fruit starts to develop the squash turns a dark orange as if it is old and the fruit is hollow. I figure it is a worm of some type, but what and how do I get rid of it. I use seven dust on plants.
My friend and i are growing atlantic giants,, his vines are 3/4′ in diameter and yellowish,, mine are 1-1/4′ in diameter and green is there problem,, we started at the same time and the plants are 2 acres apart from one another.. ty..
IM GROWING PUMKINS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND JUST PLANTED MY SEEDLINGS INTO THE GROUND-THEY ARE ABOUT 6IN LONG- AND THE NEXT DAY THEY ALL WILTED- IVE GIVEN THEM PLENTY OF WATER AFTER I PLANTED THEM AND IM WONDERING IF ITS TO HOT- DO THEY USUALLY NEED SHADE- OR DO I JUST NEED TO WATER THEM ALOT MORE-I JUST DONT WANT TO OVER WATER- IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THEY NEED SHADE TO ME–WHAT SHOULD I DO!!!
As soon as my pumkins get about 2″ in diameter they turn soft and yellow then die. I have one pumpkin doing well (about 7″ dia.) but all the rest have died. Any ideas - the vines are super healthy with big green leaves and hundreds of big orange male blooms???
hi this is the first time i have ever tried to grow any pumpkins i planted my pumpkins the last week or 2 of june i live in new England i was wondering if i will get fruit from my plants and also i was wondering how long it takes for the baby pumpkins to start growing big once the female flower closed…i have 7 females that have babies and 2 of the 7 the females have done opened and closed so now what?????
Can seeds from winter squash like butternut and acorn be roasted and
eaten like roasted pumpking seeds? Thanks for any tips.
I have 3 female blossoms open on my pumpkin vine, but NO male blossoms have opened yet. Is there a product available to pollinate pumpkin blossoms. I use a spray to set my tomatoes and thought there might be something similar for pumpkins.
I pruned my vines about 7-10 days ago and perhaps cut off the male blossoms that would have opened this week. Should I not prune excess vines before the fruit sets? This is my first try growing pumpkins, as you may have guessed.
Thanks for your help.
I have 3 big pumpkin plants. On 2 of the plants the female flowers have opened but the males haven’t……what do i do??
My pumpkin vines are dying (some I have pruned because of powdery mildew) will the pumpkins I have growing on those vines live? Most are fairly large and turning orange not orange. Should I cure them and store them like you said above? Thank you so much!
How do you keep worms from eating your pumpkins?
Well, our first attempt at growing pumpkins failed miserably. We had beautiful male flowers opening up almost every day of the summer, and periodically female buds would appear.
We would monitor them closely each and every day so that when they opened up, we could hand pollinate them to assure pollination. But EVERY time a female bud would appear, it would never open. It went from looking like it would open at any moment to suddenly shriveling and dropping off, almost over night.
Any help would be appreciated because we do want to try again next year.
It looks like something has eaten some of my baby pumpkins from the inside out. They are no larger than a cherry tomato at this point and I noticed some of them have been reduce to a skin only state with small “lacey” holes in the skin. I have noticed tiny black - possibly winged- insects crawling in and around the blossoms. Not sure if they are the cause. Any idea what this is and how to get rid of it?
It is early september. I woke this morning to see that the majority of my pumpkin leaves turned black and shriveled up. The temperature got into the low 40’s last night, and I am assuming that that had something to do with it. What caused this to happen? Will my pumpkins be okay? What can i do to help?
I am growing pumpkins and I have one good sized one so far and its green, when will it change?
hi, what if you cut all of your pumpkins at the same time(cause some are going bad) through they are some that are still green…will they eventually turn orange?
Can pumpkin plants make it through the winter. If they can what is the best way to protect the plant.
My pumpkin fruit are also forming turning yellow and then rotting and falling off. They are - well watered - well feed - well pollinated (I saw the bees at work right now!)
Do I keep the plant in or give up and pull it out.
Otherwise a little powdery mildew *but this started before that did* but other wise big healthy spreading plant.
Help!
Very, very interesting…Thank you all! However, I wonder if the sunlight required for continuing to mature pumpkins once the vine dies can be full spectrum grow lights? Any experience on this? Great learning experience sharing going on here!
My son and I planted three pumpkin seeds, in April I believe, and they have taken off quite nicely. The problem is that the female flowers won’t open up. I know that heat has a lot to do with it and being the fact that I live in Florida and the temperature is unusually high for this time of year, we’re talking high 90’s with feels like temps in the 100’s. And we are watering it everyday due to the fact that it starts to wilt by early afternoon. It gets a full days worth of sunlight everyday. It’s in a huge pot as well. Should we move the pot to a spot where it gets more shade then sunlight to help reduce some of the heat? And as soon as I can get the female flowers to open I plan on hand pollenating them since the bee activity is low.