Vegetable Gardening (55 page)

‘Table King':
This 6-inch-diameter, green-skinned, open-pollinated acorn winter squash grows on a bush plant. It takes 80 days to mature. A similar gold-colored variety is called ‘Table Gold'.

A newer, smaller-sized hybrid acorn squash called ‘Honey Bear' is great for single servings. It matures in 85 days.

‘Waltham Butternut':
This heirloom variety produces light-tan-colored, 5-pound fruits that have smooth-textured orange flesh. It takes 105 days to mature.

Great Pumpkins: Counting the Uses for This Versatile Squash

Pumpkins are the quintessential fall crop in many areas, and most peoples' favorite winter squash. (Yes, pumpkins are squashes, too. Most pumpkin varieties are in the
Cucurbita pepo
species, directly related to the acorn- and spaghetti-type winter squash that I describe earlier in this chapter.) Pumpkins are used in pies, soups, and casseroles or carved into ghoulish shapes on Halloween. Even their seeds are edible!

Because people are so interested in pumpkins, modern breeders have created many different varieties. Some varieties are great for carving into jack-o'-lanterns, some are bred for cooking, and still others are known for their tasty seeds. When my daughter Elena was young she loved to roast batches of ‘Triple Treat', naked-hulled (thin-hulled) pumpkin seeds because they pop like popcorn. You can bake any pumpkin seeds, but in my opinion, the hulless types are best for flavor and crunchiness. (In case you're wondering, the
hull
is the coat of the seed.) Other types of pumpkins, like ‘Atlantic Giant', are bred to win awards; they can grow to such huge sizes that they could practically break a truck's suspension.

Pumpkins are grown similar to winter squash and require plenty of space to vine. Here are a few of the most popular pumpkin varieties:

‘Atlantic Giant':
This is the pumpkin that sets world records. Technically, it's called a
Cucurbita maxima
(similar to Hubbard squash). It requires lots of water, heat, and fertilizer to reach the mammoth 1,600-pound, world-record size. This variety looks like a flat tire when it matures. Even though your pumpkin may not weigh 1,600 pounds, a few hundred pounds is still a lot of pumpkin. ‘Atlantic Giant' is open-pollinated and takes 115 days to mature. This is one large vine.

‘Baby Bear':
This is the smallest pumpkin variety, so naturally kids are attracted to it. ‘Baby Bear' is an AAS-winning, 2-pound, open-pollinated, minipumpkin that's great for cooking. Its semi-naked (thin-hulled) seeds taste great roasted. This variety matures in 105 days.

‘Connecticut Field':
This classic 20-pound, open-pollinated, flat-bottomed, jack-o'-lantern pumpkin is great for carving and baking. It matures on large vines in 115 days.

‘Lumina':
This unusual, white-skinned, orange-fleshed, open-pollinated, 20-pound pumpkin can be made into a ghostly looking jack-o'-lantern. It takes 95 days to mature.

‘Rouge Vif d'Etampes':
This attractive, red-skinned, French heirloom pumpkin variety, which is also known as ‘Cinderella', is in the
Cucurbita maxima
species. The 10-pound fruits are short and squat (like a wheel of cheese) and are good in pies. The variety takes 115 days to mature. Another similarly shaped variety is ‘Long Island Cheese', which has tan-colored skin.

‘Small Sugar':
Known as the pumpkin for pies, this 4- to 6-pound, open-pollinated variety features smooth-textured flesh and a small seed cavity. It takes 95 days to mature.

‘Triple Treat':
This open-pollinated pumpkin is grown especially for its thin-hulled, naked seeds, which are great roasted. You also can carve this 8-pound pumpkin and use its flesh in a pie or bake it. This variety takes 110 days to mature.