Growing Organic Vegetables: Growing Butternut Pumpkin.

Latest update 26th December 2019.

Butternut Pumpkin. (Squash).

We love butternut pumpkins, they're easy to grow, and are delicious in soups, roasted and even steamed with other veggies.
Grown organically they're rich in vitamins, micro-nutrients and dietary fibre.
In an urban environment, where its sometimes hard to attract enough bees for pollination, you can hand pollinate them. They carry both male and female flowers, but its best to grow 2 plants to increase the chance of both male and female flowers maturing at the same time.
They occupy a lot of space and I have been having problems finding the right spot for them. This year I plan to try them in a drip line irrigated bed.
Pumpkins will store for a few months, but are best used soon after harvest.

Details.

Nutrition.

This food is low in saturated fat, and very low in cholesterol and sodium.
It is also a good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin K, thiamin, niacin, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of dietary fibre, vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, potassium and manganese.
More from nutrition data.self.com.

This blogpage explains how I maintain healthy plants. It describes how soil is prepared prior to planting, how to regulate the sun's intensity and how to help protect and feed plants through their leaves.

This blogpage tells you when to make compost and plan other garden/household related activities.

Growing Instructions.

In August, sow 4 pumpkin seeds individually in fibre pots containing sieved compost. Soak the pots in a tray containing 15mm of dilute seaweed extract and plant the pots up to their rims in an EcoPropagators wicking medium.
When ready for transplanting, select the best 2 seedlings and plant them in a prepared drip line bed. Water them in with captured rainwater. Select a few vines to climb the supporting frame.
Control growth by snipping unwanted leaders and side shoots. Aim to grow 4 or 5 mature pumpkins per plant.

Pollination.

Pumpkins produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. They are dependent on bees to pollinate them, and will not set fruit if bees are not regular visitors to your garden. Herbs and other plants flowering at the same time as your pumpkin and grown nearby will encourage bees to visit and pollinate your crop.
In warm climates you should grow Pumpkin as early as possible in the season because pollination is affected by high temperatures, and the balance of male to female flowers swings towards all male flowers when temperatures rise above 30 deg C.
To compensate for poor pollination by bees, you can hand pollinate your Pumpkin using the same method used for cucumbers see video. Pollen is taken from the male flower using a small paintbrush and deposited on the stamen of the female flower.
You will increase your success by growing more than one plant close together. this increases the likelihood of male and female flowers maturing at the same time.

Harvesting and storage.

Harvest Pumpkins as they start to die back. Their stalks should be dry when removing them from the vine with a short piece left on the pumpkin. This helps protect it from disease in storage.
You can store the Pumpkins for months in a cool dry place like your shed providing there is good air circulation.
If you have a substantial surplus and space in your freezer, you can preserve some of them in resealable bags. I peel, core, dice, blanch and dry them before packing bagging them.

Organic Pest Control.

Butternut Pumpkins, like most vegetables, are vulnerable to attack from certain pests in my garden. My blog "Controlling Garden Pests" explains a little about these pests and what to do to protect plants from them. For details click on the appropriate link below.

Growing Organic Vegetables