We bought a pumpkin stand yesterday (I think it is actually marketed for flowers) because the only relatively cool dry place we have to store pumpkins is in our front entrance which was getting a bit crowded. It is a great stand because it folds up for easy storage during non-pumpkin season. So these are the pumpkins my husband harvested while we were in the US, two Cinderellas and 6 kabochas.
Three Howden (Jack o' Lantern pumpkins) are coming along well on the south embankment. Hopefully will be right on time for Halloween, maybe a bit early.
One more Cinderella on the way.
We have terrible udonkobyo (powdery mildew?) and the evil orange bugs have multiplied exponentially.
Pumkin vines on the north emankment (by the river)
And south embankment (just before a major pruning)
Baby kabocha
Baby Howden
We bought a pumpkin stand yesterday (I think it is actually marketed for flowers) because the only relatively cool dry place we have to store pumpkins is in our front entrance which was getting a bit crowded. It is a great stand because it folds up for easy storage during non-pumpkin season. So these are the pumpkins my husband harvested while we were in the US, two Cinderellas and 6 kabochas.
Three Howden (Jack o' Lantern pumpkins) are coming along well on the south embankment. Hopefully will be right on time for Halloween, maybe a bit early.
One more Cinderella on the way.
We have terrible udonkobyo (powdery mildew?) and the evil orange bugs have multiplied exponentially.
Pumkin vines on the north emankment (by the river)
And south embankment (just before a major pruning)
Baby kabocha
Baby Howden
3 comments:
that's a very cool stand!!
all our pumpkin vines are pretty much gone. all the rain made them rot. *sigh* we have a few kabocha, though.
i asked the farming experts (you know, the ones who are doing the farming lecture we go to once a month or so...) and they said you don't have to let the kabocha sit and ripen more. unless you're forced to harvest a bit early. once the stem is dry you can eat the kabocha. the one i got earlier this summer (and then waited six weeks or so before eating) was really bland. but the ones we had last year (before finding out about aging) were really great, and we ate them nearly as soon as we picked them....
I'm with Illahee- that looks like interior decorating rather than pumpkin storage!
Udonko-byo everywhere here, too. Wiped out the cucumbers, attacking the zucchinis and the pumpkins are struggling. sigh. Happy to hear my chemical loving neighbours are equally blighted though as it means they can't gloat!
We eat the Japanese kabocha straight away but leave the big grey pumpkins to age. A half way approach
We did eat one of the kabocha that was picked about a month ago and it was yummy. I think the key is to plant from seeds of the best tasting kabocha from the previous year. Most of ours will probably age for a while because we just don't go through them that fast. DH still believes in aging them, but we have so many more on the way he is willing to start eating now. I'm sorry to have passed along bad advice, definitely go with the experts!
It's interesting to hear that udonko-byo is blighting the chemically inclined as well. Ha! I am amazed that our pumpkins are still pumpkining despite udonko-byo, evil orange beetles, and recently aphids as well!
I do love our new pumpkin stand. So glad I was able to talk my husband into it. It was on sale, which helped. So much better than the old method of pumpkins in cardboard boxes all over the floor. I'm wondering if we should get one more, even. I'm thinking they will be nice for outside entrance way display during Halloween season.
We need to find a good storage space for pumpkins and such, the shed is too hot and the eaves are too short.
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