May is Pumpkin-time

Springtime is in the air and we turn our thoughts towards... pumpkins. Yes, it's time to start thinking about them, specifically, pie pumpkins.




Benefits
The pie pumpkin (technically a fruit for you 'sticklers' out there) was almost lost to gardeners after the 1950s. Amy Goldman notes in The Compleat Squash : A Passionate Grower's Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds that with the advent of refrigeration, Americans no longer needed this vegetable for it's storage prowess. Commercial growers turned their wiles to jack-o-lantern cultivars. But the pie pumpkin is more than a storage king, it's a storehouse of beta-carotene, potassium, and fiber; a versatile performer in the kitchen; and most importantly, DELICIOUS.

Growing
Pie pumpkins are traditionally sold under cultivars such as ‘Sugar Treat,’ ‘Small Sugar,’ or ‘Sugar Pie.’ If you've grown those before, try an heirloom pie pumpkin like ‘Winter Luxury:’ a lace-skinned, eight-pound little gem with transparent, golden ocher flesh and delectably sweet. (If it doesn’t break your heart to cut one of these orange trophies open.)

Gail Damerow recommends in her book The Perfect Pumpkin that you plant pumpkins when the soil is regularly 70 degrees. Plan a space about ten feet in diameter, but feel free to grow other crops in that area that will be ready for harvest before the pumpkins spread (such as lettuce, cabbage, and green beans).

Pumpkins are heavy feeders and love compost-rich soil. Keep your pumpkin’s soil moist, but don't get the leaves wet as this will encourage powdery mildew or other diseases. Your pumpkins will be ready to harvest in September or October depending on the cultivar you choose and the growing season.

Cooking
Don't confuse the pie pumpkin with those gorgeous, orange giants you carve up for Hallowe'en; they're watery and stringy at best. The pie pumpkin is much smaller with yellow-orange, dense flesh that should be devoid of any stringiness.

Everyone has a favorite pie or bread recipe made with baked pumpkin, but pumpkin is more versatile than its luscious, mashed flesh. It's scrumptious diced and baked with apples, raisins, pecans, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. You will be amazed at how tasty pumpkin is cut julienne, sautéed quickly with butter and onions, or stir-fried with onions and red pepper flakes. MMM!

As you plan your garden, don't forget this rewarding member of the cucurbit family. It's another way to make your yard, your way.