Cucurbita maxima
Pumpkin
Common names: Winter squash, Giant pumpkin
Photo: Francisco Manuel Blanco (1778 – 1845) (O.S.A.) · Public Domain · Source
Description
The pumpkin is the great spectacle of the autumn garden and delivers everything from soup fruit to giant. ‘Hokkaido’ tastes nutty and can be cooked with the skin on, ‘Atlantic Giant’ becomes a record attempt. It needs plenty of space, sun and nutrient-rich soil, preferably right on the compost heap.
Care instructions
Raise it from April (week 16) indoors or sow it after the ice saints (mid-May, week 20) directly into the warm bed. Water generously at the root, never over the leaves, because it is a thirsty heavy feeder. Lay ripening fruits on a board or straw so they do not rot from below, and harvest before the first frost.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy, nutrient-rich, moist
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Apr–Aug
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
Beans and peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, which cucurbits, as heavy feeders, can make good use of.
For example PeaPole beanBroad beanMarker peaSugar peaRed bean and 27 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example TomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberryChili and 8 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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Varieties
7 varieties‘Atlantic Giant’
You can grow the record variety *‚Atlantic Giant’* if you want a true giant; it comes from the hundred‑kilogram pumpkins of the weighing championships.
‘Blue Hubbard’
You will find *‚Blue Hubbard’* a venerable American giant with a thick, blue‑grey shell and massive, droplet‑shaped fruits that often weigh five to ten kilos.
‘Gelber Zentner’
You will find an old, sturdy landrace and the classic pickled and compote pumpkin of grandma's kitchen.
‘Muscade de Provence’
A magnificent French musk pumpkin with a flat, round shape and deep ribs that make the ripe fruit look as though it were cast in bronze.
‘Red Kuri’
Probably the most popular culinary squash in the home garden and a true all rounder.
‘Sweet Mama’
A high yielding F1 variety of the buttercup type with dark green, flattened fruit of one to two kilos.
‘Uchiki Kuri’
The original Japanese Hokkaido cultivar and the classic behind the name that many people simply use for the whole type.
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From the magazine
Harvesting and Storing Pumpkins: The Right Time and the Three Ripeness Tests
When is a pumpkin truly ripe, how do you harvest without risking rot, and how do you keep the crop all winter? The fingernail test, the stem, and proper storage step by step.
Squash types explained: Hokkaido, butternut, spaghetti squash and pattypan
Three botanical species, four kitchen types, and why you must never eat a bitter squash. Which squash is good for what, how to grow it and harvest it ripe.
Keeping old vegetable varieties and farm seed alive
Open-pollinated instead of F1: why seed saved from a hybrid falls apart, how to get clean seed from tomato, bean, squash, cabbage and carrot, how many plants a variety really needs, and what seed law actually allows.
Canning and Preserving: The Basics Done Safely
Why acidity decides whether a jar is safe, and how to handle beans and squash the right way.
Feeding Heavy Feeders: How to Fertilise Fruiting Vegetables Right
Tomato, pepper, courgette and squash are the hungriest residents of the bed. How to feed them potassium instead of nitrogen and read leaf colour as your gauge.
September: Bringing In the Harvest and Preparing for Spring
September has two sides: you bring in the apples, squash and last of the summer vegetables, and at the same time you lay the groundwork for next year with flower bulbs and a green manure. Here's how to ease into autumn.