My Pumpkin Patch from Seed to Harvest
Because a pumpkin patch usually isn't the most attractive looking garden, we have situated it in a far corner of my farm, where the vines are free to ramble at will. Last spring was very cold and wet and Shaun, my gardener, finally planted the seeds towards the end of June. I like a great variety of cucurbits (pumpkins and gourds) and Shaun, with Wilmer's assistance, planted more than 30 different kinds. Here is the pumpkin patch from start to present day.
A list of what was planted - Turks Turban, Lebanese White Bush Marrow, Snake, Apple, Marina Di Chioggia, Autumn Wings , Galeux d'Eysine, Ten Commandments, Boston Marrow, Dinosaur, Kakai, Rouge Vif d'Etampes, Birdhouse, American Tondo, Wolf, Sweet Dumpling, Corsican, Queensland Blue, Golden Hubbard, Potimarron, Dipper, Musquee De Provence, Long island Cheese, Warty Long Hardhead, Bule, Connecticute Field Pumpkin, Confection, Triamble, Red Warty Thing, Costata Romanesco, Warty Pumpkin, Thick Margin Silver Seed, Jarrahdale, Knucklehead, Costata Romanesco, and Specialty Bliss
Sources - Homestead Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange and Johnny's
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- September 22, 2009 – An overview of the pumpkin patch
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- Connecticut field pumpkin
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- Long Island cheese pumpkin
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- Hubbard squash
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- A dinosaur gourd and a Tennessee sweet potato
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- A very long snake gourd
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- Potimarron
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- Rouge Vif D’etampes
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- A ripening jack-o-lantern
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- This is called a warty pumpkin, for obvious reasons.
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- Who’s been eating this Marina Di Chioggia pumpkin? Horrors!!!
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- August 25, 2009 – The vines are well-established.
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- Shaun had fertilized and mulched with manure and hay from the stables.
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- A vibrant squash blossom
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- Another view
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- An immature Long Island cheese pumpkin.
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- This is a colorful display of our very first pumpkin and gourd harvest. There are still many more to be picked.
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- This is how the seeds arrive from Homestead Seeds – cute little corked bottles.
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- These seeds have been coated with a treatment to keep pests at bay after planting.
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- June 22, 2009 – Shaun started by making mounds and covering them with black plastic as a form of mulch to keep heat and moisture in.
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- Using a sharp knife, he made slits in the plastic, where the seeds would be planted.
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- Shaun planted 5 seeds per mound.
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- Pushing the seed through the slit and into the mound
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- This is the finished pumpkin patch with ample room for the vines to wander.
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- Wilmer is finishing up on the last mound.
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- On July 7, 2009 – The Costata Romanesco was poking through.
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- As were the Specialty Bliss.
Photos By Eliad Laskin
Martha Pins
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