In Maja Ottelin’s opinion, growing pumpkins is a rewarding hobby. On top of all that, the plump harvest can be kept at room temperature well into spring.
Pumpkin cultivation is Maja Ottelinin mind. Colorful pumpkin bulbs peek out here and there from the shelters of large leaves in Maja’s autumn vegetable garden in Sipoo. Lush growth gives the pumpkins protection against the first autumn frosts.
“I grew my first pumpkins when we were still living in an apartment building. In the balcony cultivation, the harvest was, however, quite meager. Then I started field farming. Four years ago, we moved here to my husband’s childhood home. Since then, I have gradually expanded the vegetable garden I established in the place of the old potato field,” says Maja.
Maja has noticed that all pumpkins thrive best in raised beds assembled on top of the earth, where the conditions are slightly warmer than on the plain.
Soil improved with compost made from your own plant waste is a pleasant growing medium for pumpkins.
In Maja’s opinion, pumpkin is a rewarding thing to grow, because it gives a plump and tasty crop with relatively little work.
Zucchini, which belongs to the same genus, is even easier, but its fruits do not withstand storage well.
“I think that growing pumpkins is a small way to improve self-sufficiency. They are suitable for all kinds of cooking and baking. For example, a succulent pumpkin brownie is a real treat.”
Growing pumpkin requires a warm place to grow
Maja grows pumpkin seedlings from seeds in the bright kitchen window. Pumpkins grow quickly, so about a month of pre-growing is enough for them.
“They are sensitive to frost, so I calmly wait for the weather to warm up before I plant the seedlings in the vegetable garden. Then the night temperatures must be at least ten degrees. Before this, of course, the seedlings must be gradually acclimated to outdoor conditions.”
When planting, Maja gives each seedling a fertilizer charge, i.e. buries a dose of chicken poo granules in a hole made in the soil next to the seedling. They gradually dissolve nutrients for the seedlings.
Pumpkins are nutrient giants, so during the summer, Maja gives additional fertilizer, for example diluted pee.
Depending on the summer, pumpkins need regular watering. Maja raises the irrigation water with a pump from the well to warm up in the vats, because the ice-cold well water is not to the liking of the seedlings.
You have to be careful when choosing the variety
There is a huge variety of pumpkins to choose from. In Maja’s opinion, the best varieties have both taste and appearance in the same package.
There are surprisingly many differences in growth times. It is worth checking when choosing varieties, especially if you order seeds from abroad.
“The fruits of varieties that require more than a hundred days to grow may not have time to ripen during the Finnish summer. You get the most reliable harvest from early varieties.”
Last summer, Maja’s favorite was ‘Blue Heaven’. Its skin is a beautiful greenish gray and the flesh is orange and tasty.
In Maja’s opinion, the jumbo-sized varieties of pumpkins that produce fairly small fruits are the most useful, as they are easier to handle and can usually be used at once in cooking.
Pumpkin growing ends with harvest
The fruits of winter squash ripen in late summer or early autumn, depending on the variety.
There are two tricks to identifying a fully ripe fruit. When you tap a ripe pumpkin, you hear a soft sound.
An even surer sign of ripeness is to press the skin of the pumpkin with your fingernail. If the rind is so hard that no marks are left on it, the pumpkin is definitely ready to be picked.
Half-grown pumpkins can be used in dishes, but their flavor has not yet fully developed and they cannot be stored for a long time.
Pumpkins can be stored at room temperature or slightly cooler for months.
Read also Anna.fi: Mirja takes care of her 4,000-square-meter garden for hours a day, fills two chest freezers with the harvest and goes around the horse section from afar
The story was published in Maalla magazine 8/2024.
Source: kotiliesi.fi
