Quality seeds for kitchen, cottage and native gardeners
Vegetable Seeds Catalogue
Pumpkin
Sds/g: 4-10 sd/g Feed Requirements: Moderate Usual Seed Life: 3-4 years
Cultural Notes:
- One of our favourite veggies to eat and grow. Great for soups and roasting and also for good old baby mush. The orange and yellow fleshed pumpkins also have excellent health properties as these coloured veggies tend to have high levels of Vitamin C, carotenoids, antioxidants and bioflavonoids.
- The seed will not germinate in the ground if the soil is still cold and plants are very frost-sensitive. Optimum germination temperatures for seed are soil temperatures of 22-33 oC. So it can be good to get transplants going at the end of Sept and get them out into the ground after your last frost. Once they are going they do not mind soil temperatures below the optimum range. A lot of pumpkin varieties need every possible day they can in order to mature and ripen properly in Tasmania.
- Pumpkins are pretty easy to grow once they are going and if you provide them with plenty of water and nutrients they will reward you handsomely.
- Plant 4-6 seeds in a mound with lots of compost. Space sprawling vines with a 2-3m diameter. If fed properly they will soon take up this space. These varieties can be impossible to grow in smaller yards but we have some varieties that produce a compact bush similar in size to zucchinis, space these 1-2m apart.
Problems:
- The biggest problem we have with ours is the native wildlife, with currwongs or ravens eating the new flowers and possums eating the ripening fruit. Downey mildew usually occurs in early-mid autumn, killing off the leaves. A damp cool spring can also bring on downey mildew and cause problems growth for seedlings, best to resow seed if this occurs.
Harvest:
- While pumpkins can handle a light frost or two a heavy frost will damage them. Good keeping qualities allow you to store your pumpkin well into winter. Best stored in a cool room (12 oC) with plenty of airflow and low humidity.
- Be sure to use damaged fruit first.
Sowing periods
The forebear of the Waltham Butternut, with a longer curved neck. While this means more sweet orange flesh without seed it was not as practical for transporting. An American heirloom thought to have originated from the Dutch in Pennsylvania in the 1800s. At 2-5 kg the nutty, smooth flesh is great for soups & baking. A good keeper. Also known as 'Dutch Crookneck'. 10 seeds.
A smaller, flat shaped pumpkin with sweet, creamy, orange flesh. Up to 1.5kg in weight and 15cm diameter in size this bush variety is a heavy bearer and of good keeping qualities. Pumpkins grow well in organically rich and warm soils (or on top of a sunny compost heap). Regularly watered over summer this variety will be ready for harvest in approx.70 days. 10 seeds
Also known as a Kent. It produces large fruit to 4 kg with bright orange-yellow flesh with a patchwork of grey-green skin. It has a nutty sweet excellent flavour and stores well. A popular heirloom variety in warmer parts of Australia as it has a long maturing period. Treated seed (thiram). 10 seeds.
This Australian variety is a strong grower with medium sized, blue green fruit (3-5kg) and tasty, orange flesh . An excellent keeper that needs a long summer to mature properly. Pumpkins grow well in organically rich and warm soils (or on top of a sunny compost heap). Regularly watered over summer this variety will be ready for harvest in approx.180 days. 15 seeds
Sweet as honey and small like a dumpling, this little gem is single-serving sized. These tea-cup-shaped fruits have stunning white and green striped skin and grow on medium length vines. With tender orange flesh this pumpkin is lovely steamed, baked or stuffed. 25 seeds.
This unusual and old fashioned french pumpkin variety has tough, orange skin with green and white stripes. The highly ornamental turban shaped fruit is also good for stuffing. Pumpkins grow well in organically rich and warm soils (or on top of a sunny compost heap). Regularly watered over summer this variety will be ready for harvest in approx. 100 days. 10 seeds
The most popular of the butternuts, pear-shaped Waltham offers a smooth-texture and a uniquely nutty flavour that improves with storage. This full-sized winter pumpkin has a small seed cavity and thick neck which gives lots of easy to prepare flesh. Butternuts yield well and store longer than other pumpkins in cool dry conditions (up to a year). 25 seeds.
A popular smaller pumpkin with dry flesh and excellent storage. A smaller bush that produces numerous blue-grey skinned pumpkins (15-20 cm across) and weighing up to 2 kg. The deep orange flesh is sweet and excellent for roasting, soups, pies and steaming. Originated in USA. 10 seeds.
A medium-small pumpkin with rich, sweet, fibreless flesh. A dark grey/green skin that is contrasted with deep orange flesh. Averages 3-4 pumpkins per plant at 1.3-2.5 kg. One of our favourite dry pumpkins. Stores well if cured in a dry, airy environment. 10 seeds.
A sweet pumpkin that is perfect for stuffing and baking. The skin is edible and is cream coloured with long dark green stripes and flecks. Yielding about 7 small pumpkins (0.7 – 1 kg) per plant that will store for 4 months. No curing required before storage. 15 seeds.
A South African favourite due to its delicate sweet flavour. These bushes are hugely productive, with some yielding up to over 20 cricket ball sized fruit. Harvest in autumn when the skin toughens. Store in a dry, dark cool spot for up to three months. Boil, bake or steam – delicious with butter. 10 seeds.
This thumper has bright orange flesh and a grey skin. Growing to 7 kg it is segmented and a reasonable storer (6 months+). A hardy vine with some mildew resistance. Grow this variety if you luurrrvvvve pumpkin as it yields plenty of large fruit. An easy cutting, sweet-fleshed variety used for soups, baking or steaming. Not suited for short summers. 10 seeds.