Pumpkin, Winter Squash 'Big Max'

Growing pumpkins is quite a challenge unless you want to do it with chemicals. In the past I have taken out the borers as described at <...Read Morea href="http://davesgarden.com/guides/terms/go/1604/" target="_dgnew">http://davesgarden.com/guides/terms/go/1604/ . I discovered that if I start the seeds in large containters and don't plant them until late July, there is enough time in our area, for the pumpkins to mature - if the gophers don't eat the leaves which they did for the first time this year.

I think the reason this works is because the adult moths lay eggs near the base of the plant from late June through July and early August, and the borer larvae enter the stems where they live as borers, so I don't plant until after the moths have laid their eggs.

jaoakley - if you can keep out the borers, feed them some powdered milk and pinch off some of the pumpkins, they will grow over 100lbs. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/265172/

Cucurbita maxima is the giant squash and comes in many shapes, colors and sizes. This "breed" looks a lot like the classic members of th...Read Moree Cucurbita pepo ("true" pumpkins) species, but gets a lot bigger and has a harder thicker shell. Sadly, many don't get quite as round as you may like, nor are they the best to cook with, but are fun to grow just the same!

These pumpkins are excellent for monster Jack O'Lanterns. This variety is often advertised as being capable of reaching 100 pounds. In my...Read More own experience, they have only reached 30 to 50 pounds, but this is still larger than your typical 20 pound Jack O'Lantern. The skin has an excellent colour, a nice bright orange. The flesh of this pumpkin is 3" to 4" thick and thus can be somewhat more difficult to carve in comparison to other pumpkins. The vines of this variety are much larger than most other pumpkins.