Pumpkin, marrow, squash

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima and C . n~oschata) marrow and squash (Cucurbita pepo) are all members of the large Cucurbit family. They are all warm season vegetables and are sensitives to frost damage. Plantings should be made as soon as possible after the last frost. Marrows and summer squash are harvested when the fruits 'are nearly mature. Pumpkin and winter squash are harvested when the fruits are fully mature. Some varieties keep very well and can be used throughout the winter.

Space is the main factor which limits the growing of these veget- ables in the home garden, although bush marrows and some squash can be grown as close as one metre.

Pumpkins and marrows are useful in conditioning new ground. In this case, they can be allowed to run without much pruning back. Their heavy foliage suppresses weeds. Choose an open position

that receives ample sunlight and is not too protected from the wind. This will reduce mildew. Allow ample room so that the vines do not interfere with other crops.

Varieties Pumpkin and winter squash Butter pumpkin is the earliest maturity pumpkin. I t matures five 10 six weeks before the keeping varieties. With adequate care it will keep for a limited period.

Windsor Black is almost as early as Butter Pumpkin.

Butternut grows on a small vine and fruit are pear shaped and 1 to 2 kg in mass. Baby Blue also has a small semi-running vine and small fruit. Golden Nuggett is a small bush pumpkin with small round orange fruit up to 1 kg in mass.

Queensland Blue is one of the most popular varieties of pumpkin. It is later than those mentioned already and it is a long keeper. Triamble is also a mid-season to late variety, with good keeping qualities. Crown Prince has smooth grey fruit of moderate size. It, too, is a good keeper.

Buttercup grows on a small compact vine with fruit of medium size. Banana Squash has long fruit, not unlike a marrow. I t has a dry flesh and is a good keeper. Green Warted Hubbard is also a large squash. I t has heavily warted fruit which keeps well. Table Queen has a small pear-shaped fruit which can be cut in halves and served baked.

Marrows and summer squash Marrows and summer squash can- not be stored ; they have moist flesh and soft immature skins.

Bush or non-running marrows are especially suited to gardens where space is limited. They can be grown at 1 metre by 1 metre spacing. Suitable varieties of marrows include Long White Bush, and Long Green Bush.

Zucchini marrows are picked very immature at 100 to 150 mm

in 1' the

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In ength. They are cooked with the skins attached.

Popular summer squash vareties are Early Golden Bush,

Summer Crookneck, Early bummer Straightneck and Early White Bush.

Soil preparation and fertilisers Dig the whole plot deeply and then work in a liberal quantity of organic manure. After levelling the bed, make holes about 250 mm deep and 200 to 250 mm in diameter at the correct planting distance and put half a bucket of rotted manure or compost at the bottom of the hole. Fill in the top soil so as to leave a small mound or hill about 150 mm above soil level, leaving a hollow around the base. If organic manure is not available, place 120 g of NPK 3 : 6 : 7 complete fertiliser under each hill.

Sowing and planting Dust seed with thiram and sow three seeds to each hill. The seeds may also be sown in seed boxes or better still, they can be sown in groups of three in a pot or jam tin. In this way, early plants can be raised under cover, or later, advanced plants may be raised and held to plant after a late spring or early summer crop of other vegetables has been harvested.

Cucurbit seedlings are very brittle. Transplant with plenty of soil around the roots. Pumpkins should be sown in hills 2 metres by 2 metres while small bush marrows can be spaced as close as 1 metre by 1 metre.

Cultivation and watering The large leaf area of vine crops quickly smothers weed growth, and cultivation should be kept to a minimum as the cucurbits all have shallow root systems. Draw some soil up around the crown so that water will drain away. Water the crop by forming a saucer around each hill rather than using overhead sprinklers.

Queensland Blrie.

Crown Prince.

Early

Radish Red crisp radish (Raphanus

Curcuhit f7oioers car1 he hand-pollirzate female power forms frrrit.

Plastic mulching will help to warm up the soil. It has been shown to increase yields and produce earlier crops. Place the black polythene over the plant by cutting holes in the sheet or sow or plant through slits in the plastic. (See page 35).

.Pollination Cucurbits produce separate male and female flowers. To obtain a good fruit set, it is desirable to hand-pollinate the female flowers. The plants can be kept within bounds by nipping back the tips of the main runners after they have grown to a length of about 600 mm from the base. This causes lateral growth to form. It is upon these laterals that most of the female flowers are formed.

By hand-pollinating, nearly every female flower forms fruit. Plenty of medium-sized fruit will be produced. If allowed to grow and pollinate naturally, vines tend to straggle, and fewer, and per- haps oversize fruit will be formed.

Harvesting and storage Pumpkins for storage must be mature and have firm thick and unbroken skins.

Queensland Blue, Triamble, and Crown Prince are three long-keep- ing varieties. Do not harvest

d, and by this method, rzearly elvery

pumpkins until they mature. This is usually when the vine has died down. Leave about 50 to 75 mm of stalk attached to the pumpkin as diseases can enter through the wound if the stalk is removed.

Pumpkins are subject to injury from cold, like other warm-season plants, therefore attempt to harvest the pumpkins before the first frost. In colder districts make a stack of pumpkins separated with straw, rather than placing the pumpkins separately on shelves. The straw insulates the pumpkins against low tem- peratures.

Stored pumpkins must be inspected at regular intervals. Those which are showing any signs of disease should be removed from the stack. Correctly stored pumpkins should hold until September or October.

Summer squashes grow quickly and, for best quality, should be harvested before they are mature, for example, before the skin begins to harden and the seeds reach full size. The fruit is normally harvested when about 75 mm in diameter, but the quality does not deteriorate until after the fruit are about 150 mm across. They can- not be stored like pumpkins or winter squash.

sativus) add color and texture tc salads and hors d'oeuvres. They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the home garden. Good radish must be grown quickly or they will be tough, hot and pithy and lack the fresh crispness which makes them so attractive.

Radish can be grown year round. They germinate in three to five days, depending on soil temperature, andthey are usually ready to pull in five to six weeks. They are frost hardy. Winter sow- ines should be made in a warm shiltered spot to ensure rapid growth.

French Breakfast variety is bright red and oval shaped with a white tipped root. The flavor is mild. Long Scarlet is also bright red and mild in flavor but has a long tapering root.

Cultural requirements for radish are very similar to carrots (page 80). They grow best on a light well drained soil which is only slightly acid. Soil should be well fertilised with an NPK 5 : 8 : 4 complete fertiliser in addition to organic manure.

Sow seed 25 mm apart row in a drill 20 mm deep, and cover with 10 mm of loam and firm down. Thin to 50 mm when seedlings have produced their second leaf. Radish must be kept well watered to maintain good growth during the summer months.

Radish-one of tlzc ensir.~t vegetables to grow i n the h o m e garden.