7 Great Pumpkins for the Northwest

As fall swiftly approaches in thePacific NorthwestI start to attend forward to harvest home autumn pumpkin . In my orbit there are several places to buy Cucurbita pepo for fall eating anddecorating . The price of designer pumpkins , like ashen ghostwriter pumpkins and drop Cinderella or fairytale pumpkins , has live up over the years . So growing them yourself by ejaculate is an economical , and fun , way to go .

Quite by accident , I start growing autumn pumpkin in my garden . After using the autumn pumpkin from the market place for video display , I hold them in the compost muckle . The next bound my compost pile started growing pumpkins . Heat and wet from the compost were the perfect conditions for the seeds to sprout . By the remnant of summer , the plants were lavish and full of pumpkins . That was so simple and easy that I deliberately commence maturate them in my garden .

You can grow many different kinds of pumpkins from seed

It ’s exciting to learn about the unlike varieties and colors of pumpkins that are available by germ . Pumpkin botanical names vary , but usually they areCucurbitapepoorCucurbita maxima . Besides being the specie behind many house decorator pumpkins , C. maxima , as you could guess , is the mintage of the giant pumpkins grown for fairs and harvest home festivals — often growing to over 100 Egyptian pound . ( Check out thePacific Northwest Giant Pumpkin Growers website , featuring a family - orientate gardening organization that is dedicated to farm giant pumpkins . ) I like to produce cosmetic and edible pumpkin , as I bonk to make fall soup or pumpkin risotto as well as pumpkin bread and muffins .

Here is a list of my some of my favorites . No matter if you are growing pumpkins from seed in late bound or face for the unadulterated pumpkins at the local garden pith or nursery , these are deserving seek out .

Great pumpkins for the Pacific Northwest

1. ‘Black Kat’

( C. pepo‘Black Kat ’ , 77 solar day to mature ) – This is a rounded mini - pumpkin vine that grow to no more than 1 pound . It features tasty wan orange anatomy and dramatic drear green , almost black , pelt .

2. ‘Dark Knight’

( C. pepo‘Dark Knight ’ , 100 days to mature ) – Another black - skinned Cucurbita pepo , almost black-market , this selection grows up to 10 pounds . The juicy bottom , tear - pearl shape , and contrasting obscure skin to orange flesh make it sound for carving and display . This pumpkin vine can be harvested when black or leave to suppurate and become a promising orange .

3. ‘Jarrahdale’

( C. maxima‘Jarrahdale ’ , 100 mean solar day to mature ) – A popular variety in Australia , this pumpkin matures to slate blue – hoary ( up to 10 Irish punt ) and has a squat shape with deep ribs . One of the best keepers , it can be kept up to a yr . It is best in savory dishful and is as beautiful as it is toothsome .

4. ‘Long Island Cheese’

( C. moschata‘Long Island Cheese ’ , 105 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to maturate ) – This is a strangely but ably named pumpkin because it calculate like a wheel of cheese . It grows up to 10 pounds and feature terrifically variable skin coloring — sometimes pinkish , spots , or stripes .

5. ‘Musquee De Provence’

( C. moschata‘Musquee De Provence ’ , 90 to 110 days to maturate ) – An heirloom Cinderella pumpkin from France , this selection is excellent for eat . It spring up up to 20 pound . It has a stumpy form with abstruse crack and matures from dark green – blue to soft cream or orange .

6. ‘Silver Edge’

( C. mixta‘Silver Edge ’ , 95 to 100 days to maturate ) – This native Mexican mash is grown for its seed rather than its flesh . A fundamental ingredient in pipian sauce , the seminal fluid are rich and have a slurred silver edge . They are also very secure roasted . The squash racquets grows up to 1 Cypriot pound and has large cutis tinge — blank with green grade insignia .

7. ‘Rouge Vif D’etampes’

( C. maxima‘Rouge Vif D’etampes ’ 100 day to mature ) – Another heirloom from France , this is a beautiful Cinderella pumpkin vine with a deep red colour . It is large , weigh up to 20 Irish pound , and is an splendid eating pumpkin that keeps well for many months after harvest .

For the best pumpkins, provide lots of sun and as much warmth and space as possible

You ’ll get the secure results by growing your pumpkins in full Lord’s Day ( the hotter the good ) . My patch has a side from the seam to the greenhouse area that I cover with dark landscape painting fabric . The heat the cloth absorbs really help oneself the fruit to mature .

you’re able to set out seminal fluid indoors , but keep in mind that these plant life begrudge transplantation , so do n’t let them get pot bound or disturb the roots when found out . They originate tight in the earth if you wait to sow in or put plants out until the temps are at least 50 ° F . As plants maturate , do n’t care about mould on the leaves . It does n’t affect the fruit .

The vine can be envelop around each other if space is an proceeds . You do n’t even have to have a vegetable garden to grow them . Pumpkins can be placed at the edge of the compost agglomerate , by an fresh driveway or way , on a grassy area that you do n’t want to cut down for the summer . They can also be trained to rise up a trellis support with a hanging backup for the autumn pumpkin as they maturate ( old textile ties or stocking ) .

If you have n’t bug out your collection yet , it is light to get started . Pick up some great miscellany at the farmers market or grocery fund in October . If you ’d wish to grow your own , you may carry through seeds from mature fruit to grow next twelvemonth or purchase seed in bound from a favorite germ . I ’ve foundBaker Creek Heirloom Seedsto be an splendid come source for heirloom varieties and strange hybrid .

To learn more about growing Cucurbita pepo , seeHow to develop Pumpkins .

— Susan Calhoun is the owner of Plantswoman Design in Bainbridge Island , Washington .

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