Not all pumpkins are created equal: Know what variety to buy (and it’s dependent upon eating it or carving it). Before you reach for a ball of golden-orange goodness in the garden center, remember this: Not all those orange balls is created equal, and depending which one you select will determine what happens next. Will you be eating it, or carving it?
To get right to the point: Carving pumpkins are typicaly hollow inside with relatively thin walls. Baking pumpkin, on the other hand, are made specifically for roasting or baking, and they tend to be sweeter and denser. If you grab the wrong kind, well…you’ll see. Now, there’s no reason to use a giant carving pumpkin to make pie: It’s watery, with stringy flesh. On the other hand, a sugar pumpkin has such thick walls that you’ll be frustrated when you try to carve it with common kitchen tools. The difference between decorative types and the heavy ones is clear in this visual chart.
How to Choose and Grow Pumpkins
For your traditional jack-o-lantern, stay with Howdens and Connecticut Fields. They take roughly 90 days to mature. They has vibrant orange skin that is good for carving and more. On the opposite end of scale is Atlantic Giant. Capable of weighing over one-thousand pounds, this pumpkin will eat you out of house and home (as well as take up acres of space). A single vine could span a thousand square feet of your garden ground. This is not a plant for your average suburban backyard unless you have plenty of extra space. Better luck for most gardeners with Big Max or similar variety. It is still quite impressive in weight for a county fair, yet it requires just a little bit less acreage than its giant cousin.
If you’re making something with your haul to eat, the baking categories are where you’ll have your greatest success. The go-to variety for this purpose is no surprise: the Sugar Pie pumpkin. Why? It has fine-grained, dense flesh that is free from the stringiness found in larger types. With more meat (less water) per pound, that translate to a richer-tasting final product. And then there are those heirloom beauties, pumpkins such as the Rouge Vif d’Etampes or the Cinderella. They look good on the dinner plate and cook up great for bisque or risotto. Plus, thanks to their rich red-orange color and flattened shape, they also makes a great presentation at the dinner table.
Who knew that pumpkins could be other than plain old orange? The Jarrahdale turns your harvest an eye-catching shade of blue-grey, which we can appreciate. Bonus: It keeps really well, sometimes even four to five months when cured correctly.
Success with growing these plants hinges on two things: timing, and soil quality. Pumpkins is hungry creatures, requiring loose, rich soil with good compost additions. They also demand lots of heat; wait till all frost danger has passed, and the ground is warm, then sow seed. Avoid powdery mildew (a fungal disease common in hot, humid summers) by watering at the base of the plant, not overhead. And remember one more important step that even experienced growers sometimes forget: how to pollinate. Without bees, there will be no fruit set; if you’re having problems because there aren’t many around when your plants bloom, you can help yourself out with a little hand pollination using a small paintbrush.
When your fruits are ready, how do you pick them? The answer: How you store them. First thing, always cut the stem and include some inches with the fruit. Twisting or pulling risks damaging the stem, which then provides an opening for possible rot. Next, you’ll want to cure them for two weeks or so in a place that’s warm but also humid (to allow any small wounds on the pumpkin to heal and the skins to harden). Curing causes the fruit to convert its starches into sugars, making the fruit more flavorful, but also longer lasting, as the sugars help preserve it. Many types stored well in a cool, dry location will last through winter, meaning not only do you have plenty of time for those big pies, but you’re adding fresh ingredients long after the growing season. And that comes back around to selecting the best type for your needs, be it a piece of pie on the dinner plate, or a beautiful squash on the front porch.