As you are walking through the pumpkin patch and looking at all the different sizes, shapes and colors you might be wondering what they all are and are they good for anything besides looking pretty. You are in luck! We are going to go through some of what we grow and what they are good for.
Blue Doll pumpkin has an exotic blue color to its blocky, deeply ribbed fruit. 15-20 lb. fruit that have a blue colored rind and sweet, deep orange flesh. Blue Doll's flesh is good for pies, soups or canning.
Flat White Boer pumpkin offers a unique shape for fall displays. 10-17 lb. fruits are flat in shape and scalloped. The fruit have a good white color and the color does not bleach out or yellow over time. White Flat Boer Ford pumpkin has bright orange flesh that has a sweet taste. Stores well for winter.
Jarrahdale is actually a good quality winter squash but it also makes a interesting fall ornamental. Its decorative fruit are a slate-gray color with heavy, rounded ribs and weigh 6-10 lbs. As a squash, it is the favorite of Australians because of its thick, sweet, orange flesh of good quality. Jarrahdale is an excellent storage squash and add interest and color to fall displays.
Polar Bear is a large to extra-large round, white fruit have good color retention after maturity. Polar Bear produces 30-65 lb., lightly ribbed fruit. Add these large white pumpkins as a focal point in displays.
Porcelain Doll pumpkin is a eye-catching fall ornamental with its striking pink color on large, blocky, deeply ribbed fruit. 20-25 lb. fruit that have a pink colored rind and sweet, deep orange flesh. Porcelain Doll's pumpkin flesh is good for pies, soups or canning.
Warty Goblin pumpkin is a heavily warted pumpkins that are frighteningly cool! The round to tall pumpkins have an orange hard shell rind and green warts that stay green for several weeks after harvest. Warty Goblin has a well-proportioned, dark green stem that is firmly attached.
Peanut pumpkins, the pink rind of this unique squash is covered with beige peanut-like bumps, giving it a truly one-of-a-kind appearance. It’s a great item for fall decoration and also for use in baking and soups. The 10-20 lb. oblate-flattened shaped fruit has a sweet, moist, orange flesh.
Miniwarts is a round 3 ½ lb. pumpkin, a smaller version of Warty Goblin with the same orange shell and striking green warts. The strong handle and small fruits make Miniwarts a perfect choice for home displays.
Sweet Lightning, a winter delicata, is both outstanding decorative and eating qualities. Is one of the best flavored when used as a squash.
Table Star has 50% higher sugars than other acorns squash.
Betternut 23 has a high percentage of dry matter and sugar content.
Batwing is a unique ornamental producing small .5-1 lb. fruit with many having a novel, dipped in dark green paint look. Batwing will produce a variation of fruit colors, with some being completely orange, some all dark green, and a good quantity being half orange and half green.
Baby Boo is a creamy white, the fruit average 2 to 3" in diameter by 2" high and have a white flesh that is edible.
Wee-Be-Little is a true miniature pumpkin that produces remarkably small fruit that are about the size of a baseball. The fruit are smooth enough for painting have a bright orange color and thin, dark stems that are well attached. The fruit weigh approximately 10-14 oz. and average 3 to 3-1/2" in diameter.
Jack Be Little bears the tiny pumpkins that are so popular during the Fall season! Fruits grow to about 8oz, 4" wide by 2" high. While popular for decoration, the fruits are quite good to eat as well. Originally from Thailand, the fruits are valued in southeast Asian cooking.
Black Futsu- This small, bumpy, heavily ribbed Japanese squash is gaining in popularity, showing up at more and more farmers markets and produce departments, and for good reason. Fairly early for a moschata family squash it has a very smooth, fine grained flesh and a fruity flavor at harvest that lends itself to thinly sliced raw or pickled preparations. The fruitiness takes on a nutty depth in storage, and is excellent roasted in wedges or battered and fried as tempura. With its very edible thin skin, it doesn’t require peeling. The dark green fruits ripen to a remarkable buff tawny blushed bluish color and develop a thin white film known as “bloom” on the surface.
Kakai’s completely hull-less seeds are superb for roasting! Slightly oblate, delicately ribbed fruits are an unusual shade of yellow-orange, mottled here and there in dark green to virtually black. Simply scoop the seeds out of the 5- to 8-pound pumpkins, rinse, salt if desired, and roast in the oven until slightly browned.
Musquee De Provence These gorgeous, big, flat pumpkins are shaped like large wheels of cheese and are heavily lobed and ribbed. The skin is a beautiful, rich brown color when ripe, a dark green, almost black when picked early. The flesh is deep orange, thick, and very fine flavored; fruit grows to 20 lbs each.
