Pumpkins are a tender, warm-weather crop. Pumpkins are a type of winter squash—grown through the summer for harvest in the fall. • Sow pumpkins indoors 3 to 2 weeks before the last expected frost in spring the transplant them into the garden after all danger of frost has passed. • Sow pumpkins outdoors when the…
Pumpkin
How to Harvest and Store Pumpkins
When to Harvest Pumpkins: • Harvest pumpkins when they are fully colored and the rinds are hard. •The color of a mature pumpkin can vary according to variety; mature coloration can be orange, white, gray, or blue-gray. • A mature pumpkin will have a hard, shiny shell that is not easily dented or punctured by…
How to Make Pumpkin Ice Cream
Here is a tasty pumpkin ice cream that is easy to make: it is simply sweetened pumpkin purée, milk, and whipping cream, frozen. Because this recipe use a purée of just harvested pumpkin, you will need about 90 minutes to prepare the ice cream mix and another 2½ hours to freeze. ‘Sugar Pie’ is the…
How to Make Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Make pumpkin soup with sweet, sugar, pie, or cheese pumpkins (small baking pumpkins). Add onions and potatoes for a sweet-savory flavor or substitute tart apples for the potatoes for a sweet-tart soup. Small pumpkins are sweeter, meatier, and have less fibrous flesh than larger ones. (Varieties to grow next year include: Sugar Baby, Baby Pam,…
Pumpkin with Coconut Curry
Pumpkin with curry combines the sweetness of the winter squash with the savory-spiced flavor of curry. It is a warming match appropriate for the crisp days when pumpkins and other winter squashes come to harvest. Pumpkin and other yellow-fleshed winter squashes such a kabocha or butternut squash are best cooked until they are just tender…
Squash and Pumpkin Growing Tips
Squash Planting and Growing Facts: • Squashes and pumpkins are members of the gourd family. Summer squashes and pumpkins originated in Mexico and Central America. Most winter squashes originated in or near the Andes in northern Argentina. • Summer squashes–zucchini, patty pans and cocozelles (Italian for vegetable marrows)–have whitish or yellow flesh. They are the…
Pumpkin Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Pumpkins for pies. Pumpkins for Jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins for the little ones. Pumpkins for the “Biggest Pumpkin Contest.” Pumpkins are not difficult to grow. Grow them just like any other winter squash Here is a list of best bet, easy-to-grow pumpkins divided into size categories: (1) small pumpkins (2 to 5 pounds); (2) intermediate-size pumpkins (8…
How to Grow Pumpkins
Pumpkins are a warm-season annual that require from 90 to 120 frost-free days to reach harvest. Grow pumpkins in the warmest, frost-free part of the year. Sow pumpkins in the garden in spring when all danger of frost has passed and the soil temperature has reached 65°F and night air temperatures are above 55°F. In…
Piloncillo and Pumpkin
Calabaza en Jarabe is pumpkin in syrup. This is a tasty old-fashioned Mexican dessert that you can serve for Halloween. Piloncillo is the traditional cone shape of unrefined sugar commonly used in Mexican cooking. Piloncillo (which means little pylon) is made when sugar cane is crushed, the juice is collected and boiled then poured into…
Winter Squash and Pumpkin Varieties
Winter squashes are best from early fall through winter. Winter squashes are drier, more fibrous, and much sweeter than summer squashes. Their thick, hard shells can not be eaten—like summer squashes, but these squashes can be stored into the winter and almost into the early spring. The sweet flesh of winter squash becomes creamy when…