Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin

[macmex]

Last fall we had a good harvest of Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkins. This is a North Carolina heirloom, which I received from Rodger Winn, I believe, back in 2009. Rodger has his own web site for selling heirloom seeds, and is especially interested in those from his part of the country. He told me that this squash was widely grown in his part of the Appalachians, before mechanization. It was planted on the edges of corn fields, just after the corn was planted, serving as weed suppression. When the corn dried down, the squash would overtake everything, keeping down the weeds and producing a sizable crop of squash, which were good for both man and beast. Interestingly, Rodger has told me twice, now, that his mother used to make green (yes, green!) pumpkin pies with the green fruit. I have yet to try this. But ripe fruit make great pies and are good as a side dish, served like butternut squash. Most of all, we consume a lot of this one, by making Squash Atole, which is a delicious hot drink.

I have harvested over 100 lb of fruit from a vine. Fruit size is as small as 8 lb and up to 30 lb. Though I have never done it, this one could be carved for a Halloween pumpkin. It would be most unique, used that way, but I would feel it was a particular waste of great food!

Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin does, indeed, make for good weed suppression. The plants grow rampantly, and I have NEVER seen such a root system on any other domesticated squash. It is a c. moschata. So it can cross with any of the Tahitian Melon Squash or butternut varieties. This is an example of an Appalachian vegetable which adapts particularly well to Oklahoma conditions. Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin never misses a beat in our heat, setting fruit right up until it is killed by frost. The green fruit do make an acceptable substitute for zucchini, and, being a c. moschata, it is nearly impervious to squash vine borers.

I can send a sample of seed for $2, to cover my materials. A sample will have at least 25 seeds, which is probably enough to plant five times more than a family of five would normally use!

Contact me through my profile if interested.

George
Tahlequah, OK




Rodger's website: www.rodgersheirlooms.com/index.html

[kren]

I'd like some of these seeds, George - maybe I can get them at the next meeting?

[macmex]

For sure Kren. I have a LOT of seed. This is a very much under exploited variety, being so very dependable in our climate, yet so good!

I just have to come up with a locale for where we meet. Next meeting should be This coming Sunday afternoon, May 3 at 2 PM.


George

[macmex]

Here's a picture of Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin vines in September 2009. I planted fewer this year, only three vines (this picture is a picture of 5 or 6 vines); and they are not in my garden, but rather under fruit trees. One is beginning to climb a peach tree and another is climbing in our grape vines! I planted fewer this year because I needed to grow out my Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin Seed, which was getting old. The challenge in doing this is that, now, I have to hand pollinate if I want any pure seed.

George

[macmex]

Here is a link to a thread on this variety, which I published on Gardenweb in 2009. There are a lot more good pictures and description in it.

Now, don't get the idea that this is the only super variety of winter squash! There are others. But this one is pretty much forgotten. I will keep it going, as it is so very well adapted to our hot, extreme weather.

George

forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/okgard/msg0916275614741.html

[macmex]

Since coming to Oklahoma (2005) I have come to have a new gardening philosophy. I really prize anything which grows like a weed. Weeds don't seem to struggle with drought and they tolerate pests way better than most garden plants. I'm sure there are a number of squash which would fit this description. But the one with which  I have the most experience is the Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin. I strongly suspect that the Seminole and Choctaw pumpkins are equally as good.

As we near the end of the growing season, I find great pleasure in visiting our pumpkin patch. The leaves are beginning to droop and reveal what has been hiding in there. We are going to have a very good harvest! Here are two pictures. The first is of a cluster of Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkins. It's amazing how the human eye can pick things out and filter, while a camera cannot. There are actually four pumpkins in the right there. But leaves hide the fourth.


Every year, on gardening forums, I see questions about whether larger squash can be grown on a trellis. Usually, the answer is given that, yes, it can be done. But one needs to construct a sling to hold the fruit up and prevent them from falling off the vine. Here's what I found hanging in our grape arbor. The grape arbor was taken over by this pumpkin. I thought there were squash in there. But only in the last few days could I spot them. I had to crawl under the arbor to take this picture. Notice there are TWO! The largest easily weighs 25 lb and is just about mature. I don't want to offend, and on the Internet it is so very easy to do. So I don't say this when these kinds of questions arise. (Many times they are entirely appropriate to ask.) But I think many new gardeners over process things. They get to tinkering with their crops, because they are afraid something might go wrong. But more often than not, our tinkering causes more harm than good.

[Vashti (New Zealand)]

Hi,I was given some Choctaw Pumpkin seeds on a recent adventure in the U.S by a professor of the university of Alabama at The Moundville Archaeological site. I wanted some information on growing them and when to harvest and how to cook. well they have grown all by themselves and have smothered the chicken pen & are covered in huge green fruit. do i just wait till the vine dies off in winter like other pumpkins? (it is summer here now)I am intrigued to know why it was nicknamed "sweet potato pumpkin" Sweet potato called Kumara is a staple food in NZ & Bought here by the Polynesians from south America in their "waka" Any Information gratefully excepted.

[macmex]

Hi Vashti,

There may be more than one “Choctaw Pumpkin.” I did a quite search and found reference to “Choctaw Sweet Potato Pumpkin.” I had communication with a fellow in Norman, Oklahoma, some years ago. He had a “Choctaw Pumpkin,” which was spindle shaped and exceedingly resistant to heat, drought and insects. All of these are from the c. moschata family (relatives of butternut), which tends to make them more insect resistant than a lot of other kinds of squash. They will also tend to ripen a bit later than some of the other species of squash. I am pretty sure that the fruit on your squash will develop a hard skin, which you won't be able to perforate with a fingernail, when it is truly ripe. For some of the c. moschata varieties, this happens while they are still green in color. For some, it happens when they turn tan. Many, if picked green, will still finish ripening, if stored away from freezing temperatures. But it is always preferable to let them ripen completely on the vine. So, I suspect that your normal way of letting them sit until the vines die, will be quite fine.
The reason the squash is nicknamed “sweet potato pumpkin” is simply that the flesh reminded someone of sweet potato flesh. The squash can be used like sweet potatoes. Though, my impression is that sweet potato flesh has much more starch in it, and is thus more filling. But when one makes a sweet potato pie and a pumpkin pie together, it is sometimes a challenge to tell them apart.
Welcome to our website!

George

[mary]

I would like some of the pumpkins. They would need to be mailed. How can I order some from you? Thanks.

[community gardener]

I am also interested in some of these pumpkin seeds, do you still have some available?

[mary]

Well, my old timey cornfield pumpkins aren't doing as well as I hoped, but neither are my tried and true costa rican ayotes. I guess its just a bad year for me. I will get enough to eat some and save seeds, so maybe next year. My son planted Seminole and something called hog squash which are doing great. they are up the highway. I will be curious to taste test them all. 

[orangepower]

Folks, I am new to this group, and I have been unable to find a reliable source for cornfield pumpkin seed. Does anyone have some that I might buy? TIA.

[macmex]

Howdy Orangepower! Sorry, I missed your post until just now.
I have seed. Drop me a private message with your address, etc.

George

[Dean]

How would the old timey cornfeild pumpkins do in a Three sisters style Native American garden? Would planting in mounds crowd the plants?

[macmex]

I've grown it in a three sisters type garden and it does well. Just keep in mind that it is a rampant grower. Rodger WInn, from whom I received my original seed, said that in his part of North Carolina, they would first plant their corn, and then, when it was up pretty well, they'd plant this pumpkin around the edges of the field. The corn would mature and, as it started drying down, the pumpkin vines would grow over everything, smothering any weeds which might take advantage of the extra light afforded by the drying corn stalks. Later, they'd go in by hand and harvest the corn and pumpkins at the same time.

I've never planted it on a mound, as we deal with mid summer drought. Instead I've planted "hills" in a depression in the ground, which helps with watering, though, I hardly water once the vines really get going.