pumpkins

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Pumpkins: Just the Facts, Ma’am

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Pumpkins are so entrenched in our North American culture this time of year, that it’s easy to forget they’re not equally popular the world over.  They’re native to Central America and Mexico, but they’ve been grown in North America for five thousand years.

Bob's Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

Bob’s Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

Pilgrims learned to cultivate, grow and store pumpkins from the Native Americans.  Without them, they would have starved in those early 1600s winters. Pumpkin pie is traditionally served  at the Thanksgiving meal.  It’s easy to forget what a significant role it played in the early Pilgrim’s lives.

White pumpkin with flowers

Thanksgiving flower arrangement

We have a number of pumpkin festivals and pumpkin “patches” in our community.  We attended many of them when our boys were young, and were sorry when a few closed to make room for development.

The immensely popular Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, dubbed the World Pumpkin Capital celebrates 42 years in 2012. The festival highlight for those of us serious about pumpkins, is the great pumpkin weigh-off.  Last year’s winning pumpkin tipped the scales at a mind-boggling 1,704 pounds. Unfortunately, the festival has grown so popular that it can take upwards of an hour to get to the center of town.  We joined friends for an off weekend last year, so we could drive through Half Moon Bay and along the beautiful coast, while avoiding the traffic nightmare.

Bob's Pumpkin Farm

Lifting Weights at Bob’s Pumpkin Farm

I dream of growing our own “Atlantic Giant,” out back, but lack the stamina and will power of the serious growers. It’s fun to read about the efforts the hard-core growers employ, and to see the amazing results.  It was quite the thrill growing a 62 pound beauty this year.

I can’t wait to see what the seeds and flesh are like inside.  My husband lovingly carves our pumpkins year after year.  We dry and store seeds for the following season and the cycle begins anew.

assorted pumpkins

2011 Pumpkin Crop

Pumpkin Facts

  • Pumpkins are a member of the gourd family, which includes cucumbers, honeydew melons, cantaloupe, watermelons and zucchini.
  • The largest pumpkin pie ever baked was in 2005 and weighed 2,020 pounds.
  •  In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding “gros melons.” The name was translated into English as “pompions,” which has since evolved into the modern “pumpkin.”
  • Pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, protein, and iron.
  • The heaviest pumpkin weighed 1,810 lb 8 oz and was presented by Chris Stevens at the Stillwater Harvest Fest in Stillwater, Minnesota, in October 2010.
  • Pumpkin seeds should be planted between the last week of May and the middle of June. They take between 90 and 120 days to grow and are picked in October when they are bright orange in color. Their seeds can be saved to grow new pumpkins the next year.

 U.S. Census Bureau and the Guinness Book of World Records

Resources:

Halloween Countdown

Pumpkins and Flowers

Pumpkins and Flowers

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Blooming Thursday: Last Call

Anemones

The party is over. We’ve had a good run. The last of the anemones are finally winding down, with just a few new blooms here and there.

blooming Anemone

A few remaining blooms

We’ve enjoyed eight weeks of snow-white blossoms meandering along the back fence.  The anemones appeared at our dinner table, at my book club and in several gardeningnirvana posts.They helped soften the departure of the summer cosmos.They’ve continued to bloom into early fall, waiting for autumn color to set in before making a quiet retreat.  In a few more weeks the plants will blend in with the other greenery, and if it gets cold enough, they’ll go dormant.  See you next summer!

Katydid on Anemone

What do you mean, the party is over?

anemone spent blooms

Spent and dying blooms

water color edges

Watercolor Edges

Birdhouse Gourd

larger birdhouse gourd

Birdhouse Gorgeous 10/5/12

I’ve decided to rename the gourd below, “birdhouse gorgeous.” I’m stunned at the rapid acceleration in the past ten days. Count me grateful, too, that it’s growing off to the side of the trellis or I would have hit my head on it by now.

birdhouse gourd

Birdhouse Gorgeous 9/6/12

Halloween Countdown

Warm and toasty pumpkins
Handmade scarf by Mary Ann Askins

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Haunting in the Fairy Garden

It was a dark and stormy night in the garden. Strong winds whistled through the stark, barren trees. Lightning split the blackened skies as thunder rumbled like an angry troll. Tiny fairies scaled the tall pumpkins, stumbling upon a petrified fallen log nestled at the base of the pumpkin’s stem.  Out of nowhere, a tall ladder appeared reaching skyward.

Fairy garden log

…stumbling upon a fallen log.

A large, white cat mewed at the base of the decaying stump, reminding them that they must trudge on. They climbed the ladder slowly, chin to chest, to avoid the fierce and brutal wind. Reaching the top, the fairies emerged in a magical forest where homes were made from stickers and tiny cats were one-dimensional.

Halloween Fairy Garden

Halloween Fairy Garden

Fairy Garden Cats

Frolicking cats

They stumbled along a grey stone pathway littered with fallen leaves leading to a house. Larger than life tombstones stood at an odd angle nearby. Were they imagining things or was that really a ghost?  If you’re a fairy meandering through a forest on a dark and stormy night, it’s easy to let your imagination get away from you.  It’s probably just a balloon stuck in a tree.

Halloween Fairy Garden

Going up?

Suddenly, someone yelled “surprise!!!” it’s almost Halloween!

Only wonderful things happen in fairy gardens, and this was no exception.  Purple flowers bloomed in the nearby forest.  Cool, green baby tears lined the forest floor. Resident cats, Petals and Blossum frolicked in the tall grass.  A Pyjama Gardener cut flowers for the party table nearby. The fairies stayed to help decorate.  We’ll see what they are up to tomorrow.

Halloween Countdown:

Happy pumpkin

I’m so happy!

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My Beautiful Garden Bench

garden bench with pumpkins

Our growing collection of pumpkins
(Note the tiny ones at the top. They didn’t turn orange in time, but will make excellent “eye balls” for one of the Jack ‘O Lanterns on Halloween.)

I attended the SummerWinds Nursery fire sale last week, and brought home a beautiful, forged-iron bench.  Made in Mexico, it features scroll work along the back and a heart-shaped seat.  I’m organized at heart, so it was impossible to resist.

My son was with me at the time, and looked askance at the cold, hard bench. I assured him that I had something else in mind, and it didn’t include seating. Under typical circumstances, I would admire the bench, dream of all the things I could do with it, then move on. It seemed extravagant to buy such a pretty bench as a plant stand.

We walked around the nursery parking lot, looked at what little remained at the fire sale, then worked our way back to the bench. The one-of-a-kind lovely was still there, with a fire sale price of 30% off. Further, 10% of the proceeds would benefit the San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation. We paid for our purchases and into the car it went.

Coincidentally, we harvested our great pumpkins that same evening,  I brought home the perfect seat for our pumpkins. Once harvested and weighed on the Wii Fit, I relocated my beloved coleus to the back porch, creating a place of honor for our great pumpkins.  You can view the pumpkins seated on the bench from the street. It will be the perfect place for the Jack O’ Lanterns once carved.

Today we harvested the last five pumpkins, making room for the winter garden. My seeds are calling me. Time to get busy!

Go to the SummerWinds Almaden Nursery Facebook Page for updates on sales and plans to rebuild.

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The Other Pumpkins

Sure, I made a big fuss yesterday about our great pumpkins, but we love all of them.  How could you not delight in the uniqueness of each one?

The larger pumpkins have peach-colored shells with a flame orange skin just below the surface.  The rest of the pumpkins took on a more traditional color and grew to about half the weight.

Three Pumpkins

Trio of Pumpkins

The pumpkin, below, is smooth and typically formed on one side, but something went wrong somewhere along the way. It already looks like it has two eyes and a mouth. No carving necessary.

deformed pumpkin

We won’t need to carve this one. It’s already wearing a mask.

One of the earliest pumpkins started in an acorn shape. As it grew in size, the small scar opened up, leaving the insides exposed. Although it continued to turn orange, the rotting process started the minute it was off the vine. Then an amazing thing happened. I left it in the corner of the deck, figuring one of the night critters would simple eat it. Instead, the pumpkin warmed in the sun, creating enough moisture for the seeds to sprout. I tore it open, thinking I would compost the rotting skin, only to find a handful of seedlings.

molding pumpkin sprouting seeds

Self-seeding Pumpkin

Rounding out the eclectic group of pumpkins, this little fella survived the expanding girth of one of the greats. When I pulled away the 50-pound pumpkin, this was growing just below.

Split Pumpkin
My guess? The weight of the growing pumpkin slowly split the sides of this one, giving it time to scar over as it continued to grow. Unlike the cousin above, it’s completely healed over.

We have about five pumpkins yet to harvest, still yellow or green. We’ll see what nature has in store.

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Harvesting Pumpkins: Three to Get Ready

 

Black cat with pumpkin

Slinky is ready for Halloween

What a joyous day!  Fall is in the air and pumpkins are in my house.  We harvested three orange lovelies this morning, then brought them indoors for safe keeping.  Two have been ready for a while but I left them on the vine for up to the minute ripening.  The third pumpkin was a surprise, in more ways than one.

We still have four extra-large pumpkins on the vine, hoping they’ll turn a bit darker.  Currently they have a peach complexion.  I lifted one of these large pumpkins away from the beds to give it more sun, and discovered a smaller pumpkin had been growing just below.  It has multiple cracks in an interesting geometric pattern, but each of the cracks healed over.  I can’t wait to take a picture and share it with you.  We’ve never seen anything like it.  I’m wondering if the extraordinary weight of the pumpkin above caused it to slowly crack, giving it time to heal as it split.  My husband and resident carver is looking forward to hollowing it out.  He thinks it will look like a star burst.  We’ll restrain ourselves until Halloween.

Slinky near the pumpkins

Do you think she’s waiting for The Great Pumpkin?

The plan is to give each of the larger pumpkins a name on our Wii Fit, so we can weigh them one by one.  Won’t that be fun?

Meanwhile, I’m practicing sitting on my hands.  Every time I go out there I want to harvest the fruit and make way for the winter garden.

Ò Ó Ò

 

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Garden Log: May 9, 2012

Here’s what’s growing in my garden this week:

Flowering Annuals:

Most years I plant Alyssum and Impatiens from cell packs.  It’s nice to have the head start.  Instead I went with seeds, surprised by how tiny they were!  It was late in the day when I planted them broadcast style, so I wasn’t sure what kind of coverage I would have.  They broke ground on Tuesday.

Sunflowers:

I have two varieties growing in three locations this season.  It will be interesting to compare variables.  I planted a single row near our dwarf lemon in the front side yard.  We had great luck last year, which is to say, that four out of ten survived the squirrel rampage.  That works for me.  A few sunflower seedlings sprouted in the kitchen, and will move outdoors when they set true leaves.  The third batch has yet to come up.  I planted them in pots in a row along the front deck. (I’m dreaming of a wall of sunflowers this summer, something I once saw in a catalog.)

Sunflower Start-ups

Pumpkins:

I have one impressive volunteer from last season with leaves the size of dinner plates. I can’t wait to see what the fruit looks like. It could be our prize pumpkin. The transplants are limping along. I dressed the beds with Hydro Organics Bat Guano, which has high levels of phosphorous and nitrogen.

Pumpkin Leaf

Berries:

The raspberry vines look healthy this year. They’ve doubled in size and are stretching towards the trellis. Blooms are giving way to the early formation of fruit. We’re pretty excited about that. The blueberry plant also looks healthy. Fellow blogger, What’s Green With Betsy! says “the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.” It’s a leap year! Finally, the strawberries are establishing well. The holdover plant from last year is already producing fruit.

Planting Box (4×4)
Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries
Basil and Sage

On Deck:

I tucked in a few annuals to fill out the pots on deck.  We have two miniature roses, replanted from the back yard and a beautiful coleus.  I moved the geranium to the front of the garden, making room for the tall grasses that shot up this week.  I’m going to try to get a better picture when the light is just so.  It’s especially beautiful at the end of the day.

Deck Top Annuals

What’s growing in your garden this week?

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Eggshell Seed Starters: Cracked Eggs, Happy Pumpkins

Pancake Breakfast leads to eggshell planters

While mixing up a batch of pancakes this morning, I remembered a recent post on Facebook suggesting starting seeds in eggshells. I had leftover planting mix on the counter from planting cat grass the night before and a pile of eggshells collecting near the stove.

After rinsing the shells, I placed the rounded end back into the carton and added the mix. I planted several of the remaining pumpkin seeds, making it an even dozen. Next week, I’ll pop the seeds in their eggshell containers directly into the raised beds outdoors. The eggs decompose, adding nutrients to the soil. I crushed the remaining shells into smaller pieces as an offering for the birds. Apparently backyard birds will eat the shell as a source of calcium.

I love the narrative I found inside the egg carton. It says:

“Thank you for choosing our eggs.  These eggs were produced on small Amish/Mennonite, family farms where the traditions of being a good steward of the land are passed on from generation to generation.  In many cases the eggs are gathered by hand and much of the family is involved in the care of the birds and the collection of the eggs.  You can be assured that the eggs you are buying come from chickens that are allowed to roam freely about the hen house are given access to the outdoors and eat only certified organic feed.” – Farmers™ Hen House Organic

Cheaper by the Dozen

Here is a quick tutorial from Apartment Therapy.

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Pumpkin’s Progress: Wilted Seedlings, Sagging Ego

First, the clichés:

Never give up hope. It’s not over till it’s over. Don’t give up!  Don’t be discouraged!  Okay…but…

Wilted Pumpkin Seedling

I am discouraged.  We transplanted our pumpkin seedlings Sunday evening into freshly prepared planter boxes.  The process was challenging on two fronts.  First, the seed pods were so close together, that the leaves and stems entangled.  As I gently pulled them apart, several of the stems bent or snapped.  It was disheartening.  Second, the seed pods had to be pushed out from the bottom, instead of scooping out from the top, further damaging the tender plants.  I improved my technique as I went along, so the lower box looks a bit better.

On the bright side, I have a reserve of seeds in all six varieties, so I’ll plant those directly into the bed.  Stay tuned.

Has this ever happened to you?

Lower Box

Volunteer Pumpkin
This seed survived the winter and is doing just fine without my help

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True Leaves: Seedlings Ready to Go

Pushing Up Seed Casings

I learned the expression “true leaves” on a gardening forum called I Dig My Garden. True leaves are the second pair of leaves on an emerging plant indicating all systems are go for transplanting outdoors.  I like that expression, and find it far more interesting than my heretofore “second set of leaves” terminology.

Our Burpee Growing System delivered in spades.  We have over 72 pumpkin seedlings ready to go.  I prepped the garden beds a few weeks ago anticipating this day.  The stars have aligned, which is to say dry, warm inviting conditions to launch our pumpkin crop.  Here we go!

“The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies.”
–  Gertrude Jekyll
☼☼☼

April 11th: Planted seeds indoors in a Burpee Seed Starting System.

April 18th: Will you look at these adorable sprouts?  What personality!

April 29th:  True Leaves!  So excited…

Kitchen Counter Pumpkin Crops

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