Pumpkins, Gourds, and Squash: A Growing Guide

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaPlant Health Care
Written By Peter Morris

Good Gourd!

Pumpkins Squashes and Gourds !!!!

Cucurbita (Latin for gourd) is a genus of herbaceous vines native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. They are grown worldwide for their edible fruit and seeds.  We grow many of these in our customers rooftop gardens!

A large variety of related Cucurbita

The Flowers

The yellow or orange flowers on a Cucurbita plant are of two types: female or male. The female flowers produce the fruit and the male flowers produce the pollen.  Many of the male flowers are picked and eaten stuffed or fried.

Male flowers

Female flowers - notice the immature unfertilized pumpkin at the base !

The cultivars

The five domesticated species are Cucurbita argyrosperma, C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. All of these can be treated as winter squash because the full-grown fruits can be stored for months. 

That said, C. pepo has some cultivars that are used as summer squash (Zucchini). It also includes the bumpy looking ornamental ones that are pretty much inedible.

Edible and very common butternut squash

Domestication

Archaeological investigations have found evidence of domestication of Cucurbita going back over 8,000 years.  Excavations showed them present from the very southern parts of Canada down to Argentina and Chile.

It has been present as a food crop in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Peru for 4,000–6,000 years.  It also spread to Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.

A variety known as the Seminole Pumpkin had been cultivated in Florida since before the arrival of Columbus.

Some pumpkin cultivars are grown for their super size !

African gourds

Other kinds of gourds called bottle-gourds are native to Africa.  These belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is related but different.

They are mostly inedible and are used as utensils or vessels because of their extreme hard and durable skin when they dry. However, when young, their fruits are eaten much like those of Cucurbita species.

Goose neck or bottle neck gourd 

If you want to grow some in your garden - Call Plant Specialists TODAY !

Our gardeners can plant some for you next spring !

Don't delay – the sooner the better !

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 51 YEARS !

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission @SHUTTERSTOCK

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

Previous

PARTHENOCARPIA
Next

Inside Plant Cells: Structure and Function Explained