Allotments 4 All

Hi
It's my first year growing pumpkins, they have all done well but how do i tell when they are ready? ???
I have Snowman and Small Sugar varieties. Both have now changed colour the snowman is a beautiful white colour and the Small Sugar a lovely bright orange.
Thanks

was wondering the same thing myself, I have grown the seed from the pumpkin I bought for holloween last year from morrisons and although it is the size of a fat mans head it was still green....and then today its started going orange hooraahhh.  so I guess they can be harvest from septemberish time although this is a guestimation

No help at all am I lol

Hi all,
           Usually the foliage will die down by early September, & you can assume they are ready then. If it is safe where your allotment is you can leave them a bit longer on the vines.Make sure you do this before any frost is due. If they could be targeted by the local thieves, cut them off with a good sharp knife, leaving as much stalk as possible on the pumpkin. Take them home & try to dry them off, so that the skins harden, (greenhouse, covered area) Before storing in a cool place, wipe them over with a cloth soaked in a light bleach or sterilizing solution.This will help prevent mould forming. Mine kept this year until April stored like this in a cool garage, inspect regularly & use any that start going soft around the stalk base.

                                                                                 Adrian.

Quote from: flowergirl on August 17, 2008, 17:40:05
the size of a fat mans head

;D ;D ;D ;D

Duke

Adrian ... if the foliage keeps going strongly ... is it best to remove the earlier fruits to give the newer ones the benefit of any residual food from the plant ??

So do you have to wait until the pumpkin is orange before removing it from the vyne? or can you pick it green ? If picked green does the colour change to orange even though its been removed from tthe vine?

Duke

Hi all,  :D
                Flowerlady, Not sure on that one,  ??? In my experience the foliage always dies down quite quickly, during September & I remove the pumpkins then.

Duke, Not sure on that one either,  I grow blue kuri, red kuri & crown prince, these are all a fully ripe colour when I pick them, I have never taken one off before I thought it was ripe.
Where`s Jeannine when you need her ::)

                                                                 Adrian.

Leave them on the plant as long as you can, they will continue to get nourishment from it till it dies off. However don't take a chance with an early frost.Picking the big ones  earlier won't help the smaller ones now but you can use the babies like summer squash, they won't store but they are still good to eat.

They will cure in storage if mature when picked.

Rinds go dull when fully mature, shiny when not. This is opposite to courgettes and summer squash which are at their best when shiny.

The colours will change in storage, orange will get more pronounced and white ones will turn cream to pale yellow.

They need to be stored in a cool but frost free place..not on a concrete floor..and not touching each other.

Older pumpkins are sweeter, as they convert starch to sugar in storage.

Don't carry it by the handle. and leave a nice length when you cut it off.

Wipe with diluted bleach as already stated 1 -10 solution, and do again in storage if there is any sign of mildew on any of them.

Guide to storing, if you press your finger nail with slight pressure into the fruit. no indentation will tell you they will store, if you leave a dent they need to be cured further.

In an ideal world they should be left on the vine till the plant is completely dead, then about a week in the open to cure, reality is such that this is not always possible.

Different types store for longer.

Even the very very tiny ones can be eaten so don't chuck any away when you have to lift them.

Bear in mind, many pumpkins are not the best eating especially if they are a type designed to grow huge for decoration.

Small Sugar is a winter squash  that has a terrific flavour, one of my personal fabourites for pumpkin pie.

Enjoy.

XX Jeannine