Algonquin pumpkin
$4.00 – $7.00
(Cucurbita pepo)
Vine. This ancient pumpkin produces curious fruits about 6-12”/15-30 cm long with the shape of a zucchini and the colour and taste of a pumpkin, showing the shared ancestry of these two members of the same species. Plants seem more shade tolerant than some squash, causing them to work well in a Three Sisters garden. Not a sweet squash; good as a vegetable dish, but really shines in pie. Stores up to 4 months. One fun feature of Algonquin is its stackability: once they have cured, you can stack your crop like firewood! 120 days to maturity. 20 seeds/packet.
Start indoors 3-4 weeks before last frost, with 1-2 seeds per pot 1/2” deep and thinned to strongest plant. Can also direct seed after frost in late May- early June. Plant three plants per hill, 8’ apart for vines and 4’ apart for bushes. Topdress with manure. If planting with corn and beans, plant in separate hills between rows of corn hills at same time as corn. Before frost, harvest squash, leaving a stub of stem several inches long; cure indoors for several weeks to a month. Store at room temperature.