From YourSITE.com
Pumpkin Varieties for the Home Garden
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Jun 11, 2005 - 2:17:00 PM
By Kent Reed Swanson
If you’re new to growing pumpkins, you may be overwhelmed by the dozens of varieties out there to try. The key to choosing which pumpkin you want to grow is to decide what you want your pumpkins for. You can grow a big batch of Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween, or you might want to grow pumpkins for making pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup. Other gardeners like to try and grow record-breaking giant pumpkins. There are also a number of unusual pumpkins for the home gardener, including miniature pumpkins, or pumpkins with strange colors, including blue, red, and white.
Pumpkins suitable for Jack-o-lanterns come in a variety of sizes and are generally grown because of their color and shape and because they are easy to carve. There are small pumpkins suitable for carving that will grow to around 5 pounds. They include Trickster, Baby Bear, Spookie, Winter Luxury, Spooktacular, Sugar Treat, and Triple Treat. For a medium to large Jack-o-lantern (up to 25 pounds) try Jack-o-Lantern, Harvest Moon, Aspen, Autumn Gold, Frosty, Howden Field (one of the most popular), Trick or Treat, or Connecticut Field.
There are many excellent pumpkins for baking or cooking. These pumpkins are good for cooking because they are meatier and have less stringy fibers than carving pumpkins. They also have better flavor and are smaller than most carving pumpkins. You should try out one of the following varieties if you want pumpkins with rich flavor for cooking: Dickinson Field, Buckskin (a hybrid), Chelsey (also a hybrid), Peek a Boo, Sugar Treat, Baby Pam, Triple Treat, Kentucky Field.
There are varieties of pumpkins that will work both for cooking and for great Jack-o-lanterns. Connecticut Field makes a good pumpkin for canning or as a Jack-o-lantern. Trick or Treat and Winter Luxury are varieties that will work both for decoration and for cooking. Spirit Hybrid, Connecticut Field, and Autumn Gold are great pumpkins that can be used for carving and pumpkin pies.
If you want to grow giant pumpkins, there are specific varieties that will grow to very large sizes. If you’re interested in trying your hand at growing monster pumpkins, you should check out Atlantic Giant, Gold Rush PVP, Big Max, Big Moon PVP, Prizewinner, Jumpin’ Jack and Mammoth Gold. These pumpkins can grow to be very large, often over 100 pounds!
Miniature pumpkins are another option for the home gardener, and are mostly used as decoration. You can try one of the following varieties, all of which have an attractive shape and color: Jack-Be-Little, Munchkin, Baby Bear, Sweetie Pie, and Jack-Be-Quick. Another option for a miniature pumpkin is Baby Boo, a beautiful white miniature variety.
If you’re looking to plant something beyond the typical pumpkin, there are several varieties of strange pumpkins out there. There is actually a blue pumpkin called Blue Lakota which has a bluish-grey color. The Japanese Pumpkin, or Kabocha, is an excellent option for the chef. Lil Pump Ke Mon, a miniature white pumpkin with green and orange stripes, makes an attractive ornament for the home during the Fall.
There are a number of popular white pumpkins as well. Try out White Ghost, Casper, Lumina, or Snowball. Lumina is also know to have a rich flavor and is also a good carving pumpkin for your Jack-o-lantern.
For something truly unusual, try Red Warty or Cinderella, which are red pumpkins with unusual textures. These red pumpkins also make good cooking pumpkins.
See this site from the University of Illinois for more pumpkin varieties: University of Illinois
This site from Purdue University has lots of information on pumpkins plus excellent pumpkin growing tips:
Purdue University Pumpkin Guide
Check out this great ebook with recipes using squash, pumpkins and other unique plants.
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