I know that fall has truly arrived when these start to show up everywhere. Orange or yellow, round or oval, large or small- pumpkins always put a smile on my face!
The name “pumpkin” originated in the Greek word “pepon,” which means “large melon.” Through French and then English revision, by Shakespeare’s time it had become “pumpion.” Pumpkins are referred to in “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and then later in the American tales “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater” and “Cinderella.”
Pumpkins originated in Central America and then were probably brought to the United States through migration and trade. The plants themselves belong to the vine crops family and are called “cucurbits” and are considered a fruit. They are composed of 90 percent water.
Originally not used for food, pumpkins were used as feed for animals and used medicinally. Recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites by early peoples, Native Americans called the pumpkins “isqoutm squash” and used the seeds for medicine. Dried strips of pumpkin were woven into mats, and then eventually, used for food as well, when they began to roast strips of pumpkin over an open fire.
During early Colonial times, pumpkin was not used for the filling in pies, but as an ingredient in the crust. Everyone’s perennial favorite, pumpkin pie, was invented when early colonists, who had learned of the uses of pumpkin from the Native Americans, sliced the tops off, filled them with spices and milk and baked them in open fires. The largest pumpkin pie ever recorded was over five feet in diameter and used over 80 pounds of pumpkin. It also used 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs, took six hours to bake and weighed over 350 pounds!
Today we enjoy pumpkins in a wide variety of ways. Pumpkin flowers are edible and can be used for many things in cooking. Try stuffing the flowers with meat and rice and putting tomato sauce over them to bake. Even though 80 percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October, pumpkins aren’t only for fall usage or Thanksgiving. They can be incorporated into soups, pies and breads throughout the year for a wonderful addition of a yellow vegetable into the diet. They are high in potassium and Vitamin A. Children love pumpkin seeds that have been roasted as a snack.
In the United States, the Connecticut field variety is the most common and traditional American pumpkin, although there are many others available that grow quite well here. Pumpkins have been hybridized for an enormous range in sizes from the smallest “Jack-Be-Little” or “Munchkin” to the larger varieties like “Big Max.” At maturity, they range in size from less than a pound to the largest recorded pumpkin that weighed in at over 1,140 pounds!
While they might not seem so, pumpkins are really a very tender plant. The seeds prefer warm soil and seedlings are easily injured by frost, which makes them sometimes difficult to grow in this area. Start seeds indoors, but do not transplant outdoors until all danger of frost is past. Planting season ranges from late May to early July, depending on the variety and number of days to maturity. Check your seed packets when purchasing to be certain to choose a variety that is suited to your growing area. If pumpkins are planted too early, they sometimes soften and rot before harvest.
When planning for your pumpkin planting in the spring, be sure that you have a lot of space. Large pumpkins may need 50-100 square feet of space per hill, with usually four or five seeds per hill. After the seeds have sprouted, they can then be thinned to the best two to three plants per hill. Although weeds and pests need to be controlled for a good crop, be careful not to use insecticides that would kill bees, as they are needed for pollination. Cucumber beetles, squash bugs and powdery mildew are the most common ailments for this crop, but these are easily controlled.
Directions for growing enormous pumpkins are easily available and fun to try if you want to enter the fair with your own giant next year. The Ohio State University Extension Service has a very good fact sheet titled “Growing Giant Pumpkins in the Home Garden” that is available online.
Pick up a pumpkin at the store, on a roadside stand or in a “pick your own” field this weekend. Put it on the porch or make it into pie- for no matter where I get my pumpkins or what I do with them, they are still some of my very favorite fall things!
Gail Vanik can be reached at Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery at 565-8274 or by email at fourseasons@animas.net, on Facebook at Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery, or on the web at www.fourseasonsgreenhouse.com.
