The Vegetable That Wanted to Take Over The World
by Yvonne Florian, edited by Leslie Nicole Munroe
Birds plant a lot of seeds. Most of these seeds grow into plants that are unwanted or which are invasive. You could think of invasive plants as those trying to take over the whole world.
By the action of my backyard chickens, I had gained a rather robust “Seminole Pumpkin” plant.
Chickens, of course, like to scratch while they forage for seeds and bugs. I would give my birds our daily vegetable scraps and the seeds from melons, papaya, cucumbers, peppers, and from one free “Seminole Pumpkin” I had received from a friend.
Sprouting Seed
Now, there must have been over 60 pumpkin seeds in that one batch of chicken-snacks. For some reason that day I did not have time to do my usual “Roasted Pumpkin Seeds” (see recipe below). So the “girls”, my hens, had a seed-feast.
Except, due to said scratching behavior, 2 of those seeds got flung outside of their run, just past their reach. Both seeds sprouted in the
rich, composted manure surrounding the chickens’ domain. One plant had the misfortune to grow toward it’s benefactors, who greedily devoured the little plant before it even flowered. But the second one sprouted and grew. And grew and grew some more.
Beware Napoleon
We joke about it now but that one plant covered my whole 50′ x 30′ back yard, trailed over the swale in 3 places, and into my neighbor’s wooded lot behind me. It climbed up into the greenbrier and oak trees, and up a tall Sabal Palmetto. It was then simultaneously heading in the opposite direction, around the corner of our house toward the sunny front yard. We nicknamed this plant “Napoleon”.
Several heated discussions ensued regarding mower access to the back yard, with threats of, “just mowing it down”. And yet we were curious to see if Napoleon would, indeed, produce pumpkins for us. So we decided to “keep our eye on it”.
Napoleon’s dinner-plate-sized leaves were dark green, lush, and as prickly as tiny rapiers. The runners, some over an inch in diameter, must have grown 18-inches each night. In every direction. Like it was really trying to take over the world. I would hack it back with my machete, pulling up any nodes which had begun rooting. But that was almost an effort in futility in trying to contain Napoleon to the backyard.
Under Control?
2 years later, we decided to re-home our chickens, which were no longer producing eggs. But Napoleon still would not give up. Even when the coop and chicken-run structures were removed and with supposedly thorough pumpkin vine pulling. Napoleon came back. Napoleon was tough and definitely not small. That vine returned to start slithering up into the guava tree, the oak trees, and was headed toward the bananas. This was one tenacious vegetable; a shade-loving megalomaniac with big yellow-blossomed dreams of conquest.
This pumpkin vine climbed whole Sabal Palmettos, nicely shaded the chicken coop roof from the summer sun, stood up to a cold winter, a hurricane, severe lawnmower damage, and the foot traffic of trips to the henhouse 3 times a day.
Paltry Harvest
Sadly, Napoleon only gave me 5, rather large, football-shaped pumpkins. More like medium-sized watermelons than true “Seminole Pumpkins”. And my family
did not favor the flavor. These fruits were too watery to make delicious pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread. We might have had better results if we had used the leaves as vegetable greens. Those were plentiful.
Fruit Shape
The fruit’s shape was another strange development. A football shaped Seminole pumpkin? This is what lead me to believe this one sprout was probably the result Napoleon’s love affair with a Calabaza; or the Goodyear Blimp.
So, alas, the imperious vine had to go. A fruit which no one enjoyed and a crop of only 5 for the amount of real estate it took up was just not a good use of my suburban lot. And I truly feared a total takeover. He might have tried climbing into my bedroom window in the night to ruin my marriage.
Roasted Squash Seeds recipe
Ingredients:
- Washed damp squash seeds
- Sea salt
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper
- Spread the damp pumpkin seeds on the parchment in a single layer
- Sprinkle liberally with sea salt – the dampness of the seeds will help the salt stick
- Bake for about 10 minutes – seeds will begin to “pop” when they are done
- Once seeds start “popping”, remove from oven; let cool on the baking sheet and enjoy.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks
Members of the Curcurbit family of plants – cucumbers, squashes, melons- usually make a lot of male flowers and few female flowers. The female flowers, once pollinated, are the fruit producing blooms. You can tell the difference in the blooms by the presence of the ovary, below left, directly attached to the bud of the female flower. And the absence of the ovary on the male buds, above right.
Edible Blossoms
Squash blossoms are edible and are especially delectable when stuffed, battered, and fried. If you have an abundance of these large flowers, this makes a special treat during the growing season.
Let me just say that I had tried several times to grow “Seminole pumpkin” on purpose. All with literally withering results. So, if “Seminole pumpkin” has resisted your cultivation attempts and you really want to try them, I suggest a shady spot with a little composted chicken manure on an acre of land. But beware Napoleon! – you know he did come back once, right?
If you would like to learn more about the seasons for growing and varieties of squashes for Florida, please read the publication, “Curcurbit Production”, from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences Electronic Data Information Source (UF/IFAS EDIS).
The UF/IFAS EDIS publication, “Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide”, is another excellent UF publication to keep as a handy reference for your garden planning. It contains tables in the back for planting seasons for each of the major vegetables and for each of our Florida regions – North-, Central-, and South- Florida.
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