Harvesting a few Pumpkins

On September 23rd Autumn officially began.  Autumn is a nice time of year around here.  The weather (at long last) cools off, the grass stops growing as quickly and thus doesn't require mowing as often, and finally, you begin to see every product advertised from cappuccino to muffins to M&Ms having a pumpkin spice flavor. There are not many fragrances that are better than a Pumpkin pie baking in the oven!

This year we planted a 45 foot row of pumpkins, with three different varieties.  I haven't talked about them since THIS POST FROM EARLY JULY, so it is time for an update.  On cool mornings you can walk out by the pumpkin patch and see their beautiful flowers opening open wide, encouraging honeybees to come pollinate. Here is a bee that is obliging...

Busy Bee on the Pumpkin Flower

The bee does its job and then, using the flower petal as a runway, launches off to search for another flower.  It doesn't take long to find the next one, mere inches away!

Cleared for take-off

Here is a New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin still growing.  It is not a large pumpkin, only weighing 3 pounds or so at maturity, but they are supposed to be excellent for pie making, as the name suggests, and loaded with seeds.  We like to roast the seeds in the oven and eat.  I'm sure I'll save some seeds for next year's pumpkin planting venture as well.

New England Sugar Pie

Here is a Jack-be-little Pumpkin.  They are the very first of the pumpkins to ripen. Even though the pumpkins are really small, the vines are prolific and will cover up a lot of landscape!  These little pumpkins are great for fall decorations, but they are good eating, too.  

Another great benefit of pumpkins that I might mention are the vines.  I planted our pumpkin patch in the yard.  This was very strategic thinking on my part as I knew that the vines would crawl all over the place, reducing the amount of mowing I would need to do throughout July - October!  That's using the old noggin.

Jack Be Little

Below is a Jarrahdale Pumpkin.  Of the three varieties I planted, this one is maturing the slowest for me.  It has an odd, flat shape, but the neatest thing about it is that it will be a blue-gray color. The ones growing now still have a light green color at the moment.  They are supposed to grow to 6 - 10 pounds, although I must say that I don't think my New England Sugar Pie Pumpkins or my Jarrahdale Pumpkins will reach the size they are supposed to get.  I attribute that to an extremely dry summer. Even though I watered them daily after the drought became severe, I feel that tap water is near as good for plants as good old rainwater, and that likely stunted their growth a bit.

Jarrahdale

Here is a New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin that has turned a beautiful orange color. If the stem is still green and the pumpkin itself is still soft to the touch after putting my thumbnail against it, I allow it to continue growing.  I'll keep my eye on this one for a week or so.

New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin Ripening

The vines were looking pretty rough with the hot dry weather, but with the cooler temperatures, I'm actually seeing new growth and new flowers.  I'll allow them to continue growing as long as they like.  More pumpkins = more pumpkin pie and that is a positive development in my book for sure.

Future Pumpkins...

I harvested 2 New England Sugar Pie Pumpkins and 14 Jack Be Little pumpkins this afternoon, and I'll allow them to dry on the back patio for a couple of weeks.  I learned that it is best to allow a long stem to remain on the pumpkin, and that wiping the pumpkin down with a 10 % bleach solution kills organisms that causes the pumpkin to rot prematurely.  

The First Pumpkin Harvest of the Year.  Many more to come

We have lots more to be harvested, but I'm allowing them to continue ripening on the vine.  I don't want to pick them prematurely and have them rot before we have a chance to convert them into delicious homemade pies.  I can't wait to see the Jarrahdale (blue gray) Pumpkins in all their glory. I'll be sure to share a photo when we pick them.  It's not everyday that you see a blue pumpkin.