What a strange coastal summer we’ve had. It has been exceptionally cool with overcast in the mornings and breezy sunshine in the afternoons. The hens in the henhouse (see Backyard Hencam) have been happy and laying like crazy but my garden languishes; except for the summer squash and pumpkins.
I’ve always had pretty good luck with pumpkins here in cool Cambria. Pumpkins are said to need heat but I get a dozen or so each year, enough to give to grandchildren and make some pies for Thanksgiving. I cook a pumpkin, purée it, and freeze it for our Australian labradoodles to have on occasion. I’ve read that pumpkin is good for their digestion so I mix it into their food when their tummies are upset from eating something they shouldn’t have (which is more often that I like to recall).
This year I’ve got about a half-dozen big pumpkins that are starting to turn orange. I won’t harvest them until they have fully matured and have gained their beautiful rich color. Their skin needs to harden and their stems need to dry and shrivel before they are removed from the vine. Pumpkins do not sweeten after they have been harvested so it’s best to leave them on the vine for as long as possible.
The leaves of my pumpkin are beginning to get powdery mildew (like my summer squash leaves). I ignore it and remove the leaves when they get too infected. It doesn’t seem to affect the production of the pumpkin.
Pumpkins are considered a winter squash because they store well in the winter, not because they grow in the winter. Pumpkins need to be stored at temperatures under 60 degrees. They will lose some sugar as the winter progresses but can be good up to about six months.
If you don’t have a place to grow pumpkins be creative. I plant mine in my rose garden. The vines meander in and around the rose bushes and fill in space that would otherwise be wasted. Pumpkins are fun to grow and fun to eat. Fall is not fall without a few pumpkins in the garden.
