Fall Produce
Here is some information for you about your Fall produce. This page covers descriptions of the plants, harvesting your produce, and even some recipes!
New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin
About the Plant
New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin is the classic pie pumpkin you will find in grocery stores around Thanksgiving in the United States. It is in the Cucurbita pepo species. Pumpkins are winter squash, which means they are not harvested and eaten until they are full ripened. Summer squash, on the other hand, is harvested young, before its skin becomes tough.
New England Sugar Pie will grow to about five pounds. Count on getting at least two or three pumpkins per vine. The unripe skin is striped green and ribbed. When it is ripe, it is entirely orange.
This pumpkin is a hollow vined winter squash, which means it is susceptible to squash borer invasions, although, it performed well for us under pretty heavy squash borer attack. The plant has an aggressive growth habit, so it will spread in several directions by 10 feet or more. We used this vining to our advantage when fighting the squash borers by burying the vines at multiple points to support the plant.
The seeds germinate in warm soil within 10 days. From planting to harvest takes 60 to 90 days, depending on conditions. The vines will continue producing as long the weather is warm, so keep watching for flowers and new fruit after you harvest your first pumpkins.
Growing Conditions
New England Sugar Pie grows well in hot weather but requires regular watering. The plants grew well here in our high pH soil amended with some compost. They don't like frost, so plant the seeds once the cold weather has passed. Space the seeds 8 inches but plan your growing area for their spreading vines. You'll need to bury parts of the vines as they grow too, so set up your plot in a way to allow for this. A wheel pattern works well, with the seeds starting at the hub and the vines growing out like spokes. This pattern has several benefits. It allows you to protect several seedlings with one cover. It also gives you better access to the vines to check for pests.
If you can, use row covers on your pumpkin plants until they flower. This will keep pests from getting to them. After they flower, uncover them so the pollinators can do their work. By that point, your plants will be established, so they will have a better chance of fighting off pests.
Eating the Fruit
Harvest the pumpkin when it is bright orange and sounds hollow when you knock on it. Cut it from the vine, leaving at least three inches of stem attached to the pumpkin. Use a sharp knife and make a clean cut. This will prevent bacteria or bugs from entering the pumpkin. Check your pumpkin for bumps, scrapes, and soft spots. Check the bottom of the pumpkin to make sure the core is solid. If your pumpkin is free of these issues, it will keep in your pantry for two to three months. If you decide to store your pumpkin, wash it with cool, soapy water, rinse it with cool water, then rinse it with a sanitizer solution made with 1 ounce (1/8 cup) of bleach mixed with 14 ounces of cold water. Let it air dry. Next refrigerate your pumpkin for 48 hours. The cooling period increases the shelf life. Then place it in your pantry.
If you wish to use the pumpkin now, wash and sanitize the pumpkin following the instructions above. Slice off the stem as close as you can to the pumpkin. Next, slice the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds and set them aside. Place the halves cut side down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake them for 20 to 25 minutes at 400 F degrees. They are done when a sharp knife will easily pierce and slide through the pumpkin. Let the pumpkins cool for 45 minutes. Then scrape all the pumpkin from the shell. Puree this pumpkin for use in pies, soups, and curries. You can also freeze the pumpkin puree. It will keep for a year in the freezer.
If you want cubed pumpkin, bake the pumpkin for 10 minutes, then cool the pumpkin, peel, and cut it. Use the cubes in your recipes or freeze them for later use.
Pureed pumpkin cannot be canned by the home canner. It will not safely seal in mason jars. Canned cubed pumpkin can only be processed with pressure canning methods. Check out this canning guide for additional information.
Saving the Seeds
Thoroughly rinse the pumpkin seeds in a colander, removing any strings or pumpkin pieces for your compost. Dry them with a towel, then place them on a new towel to dry for a month in a cool, dry place. Flip them every few days to make sure they dry totally. After a month, shake them around to remove any dried pumpkin bits. Place them in a container and store them in a cool, dry place until the next season! Mail any seeds your won't use to The Dinner Garden!
Eating the Seeds
Thoroughly rinse the pumpkin seeds in a colander. Dry the seeds, then toss them with a little oil, salt, and pepper. Roast them at 300 F degrees for 45 minutes, stirring them every 15 minutes. Cool and enjoy! Pumpkin seeds are very good for you and are delicious.
Pumpkin Butter Recipe
- 3 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon allspice
Mix everything together. Place in a slow cooker. Cook on low, stirring every hour or so, for 5 to 6 hours. Cool. Pumpkin butter will keep in the refrigerator for one month or in the freezer for one year.
Thai Pai Sai Asian Melon
About the Plant
Thai Pai Sai is an Asian melon from Thailand. This is an aggressive vining melon. It will travel all over your yard. Its leaves are dark green and rough and about 3 inches wide. Its flowers are small and bright yellow. The melons are small and weigh about two pounds. The rind is green with silver stripes when unripe and yellow with white stripes when ripe. The rind is quite thin. You'll know the melon is ripe when your press on the bright yellow rind, and it feels soft. At this point, it easily pulls from the vine.
Growing Conditions
Thai Pai Sai grows very well in hot weather with relatively dry conditions. In South Texas, we had few pest issues, except for some mites. We treated those with insecticidal soap twice, and they didn't bother showing up anymore. The plants grew well in our high pH soil amended with some compost. Things have been very dry here, so we had to water the plants every 2 to 3 days. We cut back on water a week before harvest to make sure the fruit would be sweet. We don't have enough information on Thai Pai Sai to know how it grows in other locations but will update this page when we learn more.
Eating the Fruit
The fruit is very fragrant, smelling kind of like a cantaloupe. Since the rind is thin and soft, you can easily slice the melon in half. Remove the seeds. Slice each half into four long pieces. Then just run a knife along the inside of the rind to release the fruit. The outer edge of the fruit is green like honeydew melon. The inside is orange like cantaloupe. The taste is similar to cantaloupe but far more mild. The texture, on the other hand, is quite different. It is very soft and slightly grainy but not unpleasantly so. The fruit stores whole in the refrigerator for several days. Once it is sliced, it will stay good for a couple days.
Saving the Seeds
The Thai Pai Sai Melon seeds are covered in a little gel that doesn't rinse off the seeds. We found that if you remove the seeds into a colander, rinse them well, then place them in water for a couple days, the gel should dissolve during that time. After that, rinse them thoroughly, then place them on a towel to dry for several days. We flip them a few times to make sure they dry totally. Wrap them in a towel and keep them in a dry place for two weeks. Next, place them in a container and store them in a cool, dry place until the next season! Better yet, store what you'll use, and mail the rest to The Dinner Garden!
Thai Pai Sai Recipe
Chill the melon thoroughly. Then sprinkle it with a lot of white sugar and a little salt. Eat and enjoy!
Tigger Asian Melon
About the Plant
The Tigger Melon is an Asian melon from Thailand. It is the Cucumis melo inodorus. This plant will spread all over the place, and it is a big producer. Count on getting many melons from each plant. The plant's leaves are dark green, rough, and about 3 inches wide. Its flowers are small and bright yellow. The melons are very small, perfectly round, and weigh about one pound. The rind is dark green with light green stripes and markings all over it when unripe. When ripe, it is dark orange with yellow stripes. It is quite beautiful. The rind is thin and smooth but solid feeling. When the melon is ripe, it easily pulls from the vine.
Growing Conditions
Tigger Melons grow very well in hot weather with pretty dry conditions. In South Texas, we had some mites bother our plants, but after we treated the plants with insecticidal soap, the mites went away. We amended our high pH soil with some compost to feed the plants. Since things are so dry here, we watered our plants every two to three days. We reduced watering a week before harvest to sweeten the fruit. Overwatering when melons are ripening causes them to become bland.
Eating the Fruit
The ripe Tigger Melon is very fragrant. It smells like mild cantaloupe. The melon is easy to slice, so to prepare it, slice it in half. Remove the seeds. Slice each half lengthwise into three or four pieces. Then run your knife along the inside of the rind to remove the fruit. The fruit itself is totally white, including the seeds. The taste is close to a cantaloupe but far more mild. The texture is slightly more firm than cantaloupe. The fruit stores whole in the refrigerator for at least two weeks. Once it is sliced, it will stay good for five or six days.
Saving the Seeds
Tigger Melon seeds are easy to save. Remove the seeds into a colander, rinse them well, then place them on a towel to dry for several days. Flip them a few times to make sure they dry totally. Wrap them in a towel and keep them in a dry place for two weeks. Next, place them in a container and store them in a cool, dry place until next summer! Mail the seeds you won't use to The Dinner Garden!