Pumpkin Fever Sets In

It’s the time of the year when farm stands and markets put out these strange orange melons (related to cucumbers and gourds) called pumpkins. And of course when kids see them some will want to know why you and they (you?) can’t grow their own?

From the tiny, flat patty pans to the giant hundred-pounders, they’re fun to grow. But like just about everything else, you need to do some planning. And then there’s the problem of what size, color and shape and use. Seed catalogs that once offered only a handful of choices are now full of options, and while we’re far from the time to start pumpkin seeds (which is in early to mid-April or later) this is a great time to find a location for next year’s pumpkin patch and begin getting it ready.

For those with limited space where a smaller “patch” is in order, there are the relatively new “bush” type pumpkins like Cherokee Bush, Autumn Gold and others that are referred to as “nonrunning” types. These will only take up several square feet of space whereas the running types can grow for yards.

Of course, you also need to determine what you want to use these pumpkins for. Will they be for carving, painting, making pies, roasting seeds? You’ll find that there are specialty pumpkins for each of these uses, and some that will fill most of these needs with one variety. And when it’s all over keep in mind that pumpkins are great additions to the compost pile. Just make sure the pile gets hot enough or you may find surprise jack-o’-lanterns popping up in unexpected places if the seeds survive.

Growing pumpkins is a great spring to summer project for kids 6 to 60 — though the younger ones will need some reminders and prodding as the pumpkin season is a long one. Then there’s that special day when the kids walk into the garden, usually in August, when they find the big Kahuna that’s been secretly lurking under huge pumpkin leaves and, until then, discreetly undiscovered. It’s a 20-pounder, and it’s beautiful.

The Celtic festival of Samhain most likely is the source of the present-day Halloween celebration that most of us equate with pumpkins. More than 2,000 years ago, the Celts lived in what is now Great Britain, Ireland and France. They celebrated their new year on November 1 with a festival that began the night before honoring Samhain, the Celtic Lord of Death. This festival also marked the start of cold, darkness and decay; therefore, it quickly became associated with human death. The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes for this one evening.

During the celebration, the people wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. They told fortunes about the coming years by examining the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed. When the Romans conquered the Celts in 43 A.D., they combined several Roman autumn festivals with the Celtic festival of Samhain.

After the conquered people became Christians, they were allowed to keep many of the Celtic customs. In about 800 A.D., the Church started All Saints Day on November first so that all people could continue to celebrate a festival they had enjoyed before becoming Christians. The Mass that was said on this day was called Allhallowmas. The evening before became known as Allhallows Eve, or Halloween.

Hollowed-out-pumpkins, called jack-o’-lanterns can be traced back to the people in Ireland and England who carved out beets, potatoes and turnips to use as lanterns on this festive occasion. They were named for a miser named Jack who could not enter heaven and played jokes on the devil. Now no Halloween is complete without the eerie glow of a pumpkin face in the window. This single day has made pumpkin production a booming business. It’s doubtful whether large-scale pumpkin production would exist without Halloween — pumpkin pie is not enough of a hit to support the industry!

Fairy tales and legends from America and other countries contain many references to the pumpkin. There is the episode in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in which the ghostly character lifts his pumpkin head from the pommel of his saddle and hurls it at the fleeing Ichabod Crane.

In a legend of India, a devoted father used a large pumpkin as a tomb for his only son. In time, the pumpkin was found to be filled with water in which swam large fish. Intent on harvesting the fish, four brothers lifted the pumpkin to carry it away but became frightened and dropped it. From the resulting cracks in the pumpkin shell, a flood of water poured out to inundate the earth.

The pumpkin achieved a romantic high when one of its oversized brothers served as a golden coach for Cinderella. It also must have been a sizable pumpkin shell which Peter the Pumpkin Eater confined his wandering wife. Regardless of whether one of the legends or Linus sitting in the pumpkin patch waiting for the “Great Pumpkin” to appear has stimulated the use of pumpkins at Halloween, this overgrown squash that we call a pumpkin is in real demand come October, and you should be growing your own, even if it’s a small one. The question always arises, however: why don’t gardeners grow their own?

Certain problems arise in trying to produce pumpkins for Halloween. Pumpkin production is easier said than done, which is exactly why even the most professional green thumbers purchase farm-grown pumpkins. What is the problem? The first reason that pumpkins are in fact difficult to grow is that they are long-season crops. Pumpkins require a minimum of three to four months to mature a fruit — the bigger the pumpkin desired, the longer the maturity season needed. Pumpkins are also frost susceptible and are easily damaged by cold temperatures. This all means planting must occur after the last killing frost and maturity will be sometime in mid to late summer. Then you will have to store the pumpkins any time from August on. On the other hand, you can start them later, they ripen later and the storage problem is solved — though the pumpkins are smaller.

Well then, why not wait to plant until July so that maturity and harvest can occur in October? Even though pumpkin seeds germinate best in very warm soil temperature there is another pumpkin disaster just waiting to happen when the plants pop-up — vine borers. In the fall, these killers are so efficient that many plants are destroyed before leaves are formed. The cost of insecticides required to protect the plants for three months during such an onslaught far exceeds what a pumpkin will cost. In addition, these pumpkin plants are readily infected with virus and fungus diseases that are abundant during our humid East End summers and render pumpkin production almost impossible in humid wet summers. Be brave.

Suppose that you want the challenge of fall pumpkin production — if the vine borers and the mosaic virus (there are resistant varieties) don’t get you, the space requirement might. Depending on the variety you choose pumpkin vines can be gigantic! Even with five feet between plants on beds which are at least 12 feet apart, these super growers may become crowded. These spacing dimensions mean that a “hill” of pumpkins may require at least 60 square feet. Some entire gardens aren’t that big! But fear not, there are bush and miniature types that require substantially less space, but produce notably smaller Jack’s.

Obviously this profuse growth is a basis for another pumpkin legend which concerns a youth named Jack who mounted his horse on a spring day to plant pumpkins. Although he spurred his mount at top speed and dropped the seed in previously prepared hills, he was unable to keep ahead of the fast growing vines.

So as you can imagine, large scale pumpkin production should be left to growers with large acreages. Gardeners can still enjoy the large squash called pumpkin come October when a mere vegetable becomes a magical and scary item in your youngsters’ imaginations. I also have to confess that I’ve been knows to scatter pumpkin seeds throughout various garden beds for the sheer surprise of walking through the garden on fall day to discover a bright orange object in a most unexpected place. This type of garden folly is always good for a late season grin.

Next week we’ll take a look at some of the over 200 varieties of pumpkins, how my son and I grew ours a few years ago without an insect or disease problem (no pesticides used at all) and how you can grow the biggest pumpkin on your block. In the meantime you have a homework assignment. Look at various print and online catalogs to get a better ‘feel’ for what’s available. You may be very surprised at how the pumpkin has changed in the last 40 years Looking for places to pick your own pumpkins? Try this ling tinyurl.com/24m7ypxp. Keep growing.

GARDEN NOTES

According to reports from the Netherlands, this may not be the year to plan or plant a tulip garden. With the Netherlands suffering from a very wet growing season in 2023 and more growing issues in 2024, there may be a 30 percent shortage in tulip bulbs, and those that do come to market will be smaller. You may also expect to pay up to 50 percent more for tulip bulbs this fall.

It’s not clear yet if the issues will affect other bulbs, but tulips tend to be the most sensitive to very wet and very dry conditions. Tulips being short lived, you may not get much if any bang for your buck if you have tulips in your planting plans this year. Maybe next year?