How to Grow Healthy Organic Pumpkins and Winter Squash
Filed under Organic Vegetable Gardening
Many people are interested in learning how to grow their own organic produce, especially now that the cost of petroleum has caused a marked increase in the cost of all commodities including all types of food. Heavy produce items, such as winter squash and pumpkin are especially prone to price increases because of the extra fuel that is required to get them to market.
Pumpkins are among the crops that most children grow, since there’s nothing quite like harvesting and carving your own jack-o-lantern from the backyard pumpkin patch. And, what would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin pie? For those who are concerned about the impact of pesticides and enjoy eating pumpkin seeds, it’s very important to use organic pumpkin, since such chemicals bio-accumulate in the seeds.
Pumpkins are a vine crop that can take up a great deal of room. While most families don’t use more than one or two pumpkins in most years, even a few vines can take over a rather large plot with giant, prickly leaves. Large fruited varieties, for instance, are planted in rows 8-10 feet (2.5-3m) apart commercially. In home cultivation, you can save some space by training the vines up trellises, while making sure to support any heavy fruit that develops.
In the same genus as all squash and cucumbers, winter squash and pumpkins may be one of two different species. The smaller Cucurbita pepo have thick skins and thick flesh. They are most distinguishable by having either a hard, ridged stem that you cannot pierce with a fingernail. Hubbard type squash and the largest of pumpkins are the related Cucurbita maxima species with even thicker skin and a thick, corky stem. Both have very good storage properties that allow them to last in a cool, dark place through the entire winter.
Most pumpkins are planted directly into hills that have been prepared with plenty of compost and organic matter. Pumpkins require a great deal of nutrition and are considered to be rather heavy feeder with very high nitrogen requirements. It’s often a good idea to side-dress at least twice during the growing season with blood meal or another high nitrogen source.
In particularly harsh climates or when growing particularly large pumpkins, pumpkin seeds can be started indoors and transplanted out into the garden. This is usually done in peat pots that are then put into the soil whole. While this can help create a prize-winner at the state fair, it is not necessary in most climates.
Like other cucurbits, pumpkins are highly susceptible to powdery mildew. This can be best avoided by keeping water off the leaves by watering from below using soaker hoses, micro emitters or irrigation tape. There’s little to be done in climates that get summer rains, so regular preventative neem sprays and eliminating crops and weeds that host the spores is a good way to deal with this problem in organic pumpkin production.
Insects can also be a problem, with cucumber beetles, aphids and squash bugs being very common pests. These can be controlled with a combination of organic insecticides and cultural methods such as a long rotation, keeping the nearby weed population under control and making sure small pests such as aphids don’t weaken the plants and allow other opportunistic attacks.
Plant one or two plants per person in the household and pinch off extra fruit so that only one or two squash per vine remain, concentrating the entire energy of the plant can grow into vast fruits. The very largest pumpkin varieties are usually kept to just a single fruit per vine to maximize this effect.
Squash and pumpkin are crops that love the heat of summer. By the same token, they are also very highly sensitive to even a light frost. However, though the vines may be killed by such a frost, the pumpkins themselves must be cured, either in a dry field or indoors in a dry location. Only the best fruits should be kept for storage with those that have gotten wet or show any sign of mold being used immediately.
While most pumpkin patches are single cultures of pumpkins alone, the very old technique of planting squash, beans and maize together can be a very effective use of limited space. In this sort of arrangement, it is very important that each trio of “three sisters” be planted into fairly large hills, as tall as 18 inches (46cm).
Growing pumpkin is a wonderful way to grow a large volume of food with very little effort. And, as the cost of all types of produce continue to increase, growing your own healthy, organic pumpkins and winter squash becomes an even better deal.
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