When you hear pumpkins you may think of fall, Halloween, and cooler weather. To enjoy all the goodies that pumpkins give us like pumpkin spice latte or pumpkin pie it first begins with a seed. I personally enjoy pumpkin spice latte. Regardless of what you chose to use your pumpkin for, it takes around 100 days for pumpkins to mature and harvest. Mid-July is the best time to plant outdoors in Central Florida. Before planting consider how much space you may have because pumpkins, except the bush types, need at least 6 feet in each direction to grow. This is just a sneak peek at this article published by UF/IFAS https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/MV116, please take a look at it!
Pumpkin Varieties
Pumpkins are commonly categorized by their uses like Jack O’Lanterns, Pie, or Ornamental Pumpkins. Can you believe there are more than 250 different types of pumpkins? With
so many different types of pumpkins available it can be difficult to select which one to plant. Thankfully the Flagler County Master Gardeners have created a list of pumpkins that would work best in this county called, Guide to Successful Gardening in Florida’s Zone 9A. They were able to narrow down the list to 7 pumpkin varieties. For Jack O’Lantern pumpkins these varieties are recommended: Atlantic Giant, Big Max, Connecticut Field, Funny Face and Spirit. However, if you are wanting pie, try the Cushaw variety it can either be White Cushaw or Green Stripe Cushaw and it is said to not only be great with cooking but always great for decorations. Speaking of decorations Jack-Be-Little variety is commonly used as accents around the home.
If you decide to try a pumpkin variety that is not listed, please reach out to tell us how it went. Please feel free to swing by the extension office or send emails on the pumpkin you decided to grow or any other gardening questions that you may have!
Fun Facts!
- Pumpkins are technically fruits!
- One of the largest pumpkin species is the Atlantic Giant. It can grow up to 200 to 300 pounds.
- Morton, Illinois is thought to be the pumpkin capital of the world!
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