Show off your pumpkins

[ninnymary]

Lavendar, those sure look pretty! Oh how I wish I had room to grow pumpkins.

Mary

 

[Carol Dee]

YEs @ninnymary Pumpkins take space! DS and Grandsons planted a garden on either side of the steps. They can not use this door because the vines took over. They live next door to a cemetery and the vines stretch all the way to the stones! They are growing some nice produce in there too. Tomatoes, egg plants, peppers and carrots. Not bad for a 1st Garden for them.

 

[digitS']

Kurbis, @Lavender2

What was it your DH prepared?

I searched for recipes ... soup ... pickled ... is it both??

Checked Wikipedia ... directed me to pumpkin seed oil ..!

Steve

 

[Lavender2]

Lavendar, those sure look pretty! Oh how I wish I had room to grow pumpkins.

Mary

Thanks, Mary.
We don't have room to grow them every year. My rotation bed has cantaloupe in it this year.

@Carol Dee , that's funny, the house eating pumpkin!
Great looking garden, good thing they don't mind pumpkins in the cemetery!

 

[Lavender2]

Kurbis, @Lavender2

What was it your DH prepared?

I searched for recipes ... soup ... pickled ... is it both??

Checked Wikipedia ... directed me to pumpkin seed oil ..!

Steve

Yeah, that kurbis thing was a whole ordeal. Dh's brother went to Germany and had a salad at a restaurant that had delicious orange cubes in it. He asked what it was and they told him kürbis. It has to be made with Cinderella pumpkin, they said. It took quite a bit to find a recipe I felt comfortable canning. We would probably call it Sweet Pumpkin Pickles.

This blog is likely closer to German kürbis, but I just was not sure about canning it for the shelf, not the fridge.

- http://cowgurlsblessing.blogspot.com/2010/10/kurbis.html

This is the recipe I used - it's from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving -

http://blog.muffinegg.com/2011/10/31/sweet-pumpkin-pickles/

There are other recipes out there, some calling for onion and other things. But Dh's brother loved the kürbis we made and said it was very close to his German salad. You would never imagine it was pumpkin, tastes much like spiced apple rings. My kids loved it, so I'm sure we'll be making it when I find room for pumpkins again. I thought it was good on a salad but not something I would eat by the bowl.

 

[journey11]

FYI, a little something I learned last year from a pumpkin expert (I work seasonally at a local pumpkin patch) is that the "warty" pumpkins shown on the first page of this thread are known as "galeaux d'eysines". The ones with the external warts such as that variety are best for making pies, as it is the high sugar content of the flesh inside that causes the "wartiness" on the outside. I saved my seeds from last year, and my pumpkin plant is growing like crazy in my new yard! So far, it's the only thing the deer haven't gotten to, knock on wood. That, and the kakai pumpkin plant. I put them in the ground a little late, but I'm in zone 9b & have a good shot at having some edible pumpkins by Thanksgiving.

I can vouch that the Galeaux d'Eysines do make a mighty fine pie, and soup too. We grew them last year. Definitely one of the coolest pumpkins ever.

 

[barefootgardener]

That is one beautiful squash Steve! Is this the first year for growing it?

 

[barefootgardener]

YEs @ninnymary Pumpkins take space! DS and Grandsons planted a garden on either side of the steps. They can not use this door because the vines took over. They live next door to a cemetery and the vines stretch all the way to the stones! They are growing some nice produce in there too. Tomatoes, egg plants, peppers and carrots. Not bad for a 1st Garden for them.
View attachment 9353

View attachment 9354

Wow Carol! Those are some nice long vines! Your son and grandsons did good!

 

[barefootgardener]

Watch out for those deer! Here they don't bother the vines but just as the pumpkins are about ripe they take a big bite and walk away.

Thanks for the tip on the 'sugar warts' ! We grew Cinderella pumpkins a few years ago for canned Kurbis, a German recipe dh came across and had to try. A few of the pumpkins had warts. Will have to take note on the sweetness next time and use the warty pumpkins first.
We didn't grow them this year so here's a two years ago show off...just a few of them. I put in extra plants to make sure we had enough... and then supplied the whole neighborhood with kurbis.

View attachment 9351

The Cinderella "Rouge Vif d' Etampes", is beautiful. What a nice harvest Lavender.

 

[digitS']

That is one beautiful squash Steve! Is this the first year for growing it?

The second year for La Madera, @barefootgardener .

However, my winter squash patch may be turning into a gene pool ..! I planted saved seed. The plants and fruit appear to be the same as last year's. However again, last year's squash were variable ...

I saved seed from Autumn Crown, also. It's a hybrid to start with. The fruit this year has Autumn Crown's shape but the grey color of some of last year's La Madera.

I also have Burgess Buttercup in the garden each year. None of the plants from saved seed show any buttercup characteristics.

I've eaten some of the buttercups but none of the larger squash. There is the real test ...

Good to have you back, BareFoot!

Steve