About the Book

Upcoming Pumpkin Book & Winter Book - Reader Interest Survey

Blue Pumpkin Varieties, Heirloom Pumpkins & Storing Winter Squash: A Practical Pumpkin Book

Winter Harvest is an upcoming pumpkin book and winter book covering blue pumpkin farming, small white pumpkins, large white pumpkins, different types of squash, pumpkin seeds for planting, and the best pumpkins for cooking and winter cellar storage.

How Interested Are You in This Pumpkin Book?

Help us gauge home gardener and grower interest before finalizing our manuscript - no email or personal details required.

What Inside Chapters Cover: Pumpkin Varieties & Winter Squash Varieties

Whether you are comparing heirloom pumpkins for a backyard garden or trialing commercial winter squash varieties for January markets, choosing the right genetics determines flavor, yield, and storage life.

1. Blue Pumpkin Varieties & Blue Hubbard Squash

True blue pumpkin cultivars belong to Cucurbita maxima, prized for dense orange flesh and slate-blue rinds that resist winter rot. Our field trials compare Jarrahdale, Queensland Blue, Kabocha, Marina di Chioggia, and classic Blue Hubbard squash across short Northern growing seasons.

2. Small White Pumpkins & Large White Pumpkins

Cold-climate growers increasingly pair slate-blue squash rows with white heirloom pumpkins for autumn farm stands and winter baking. We profile reliable small white pumpkins (including Baby Boo, Casperita, and Mini Lumina) alongside dense, heavy-walled large white pumpkins (such as Lumina, Flat White Boer, Polar Bear, and Cotton Candy) to compare rind durability and culinary quality.

3. Different Types of Squash & Best Pumpkins for Cooking

Not all pumpkin varieties belong in the kitchen. Carving pumpkins hold watery, stringy walls, whereas the best pumpkins for cooking - including Jarrahdale blue pumpkin, Sugar Pie, Musquee de Provence, Butternut, Delicata, Acorn, and Blue Hubbard squash - develop dry, sweet, custard-smooth flesh. Our kitchen chapter breaks down the different types of squash for roasting, pies, curries, and velvety winter soups.

4. Selecting Pumpkin Seeds for Planting & Soil Prep

High germination starts with sourcing untreated, high-vigor pumpkin seeds for planting matched to your frost-free days to maturity (85 to 110 days). Learn soil temperature thresholds (65F minimum for direct sowing), 50-cell greenhouse transplanting timelines, seed spacing for vining vs. bush heirloom pumpkins, and isolating blossoms when saving open-pollinated pumpkin seeds.

5. Curing & Storing Winter Squash Until Spring

Properly storing winter squash turns an October harvest into five months of pantry food. We detail the two-stage protocol: a 10-day warm curing phase at 80F to 85F to seal stems, followed by dry 50F to 55F cellar shelving so blue pumpkins, Blue Hubbard squash, and heirloom white pumpkins stay sweet through March.

Upstate Cold-Frame Press, Ithaca, NY | Read Field Notes & Blog Guides | Privacy Policy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Rye, Vetch, and Glacial Loam: Preparing New York Soils for Dense Blue Squash

Dense, heavy blue pumpkins capable of surviving five months in winter storage start with balanced soil mineralization the previous autumn. Across New York's glaciated silt loams and Hudson Valley shale soils, spring snowmelt and heavy April rains frequently delay tillage—making autumn cover cropping essential for June squash vigor. Overwintered Cereal Rye and Hairy Vetch Mulch Drilling 70 pounds per acre of winter cereal rye alongside 25 pounds per acre of hairy vetch in mid-September builds deep root channels through compacted subsoil and fixes 80 to 110 pounds of plant-available nitrogen by late May. Roller-crimping or shallowly incorporating the cover crop two weeks before transplanting creates a clean, weed-suppressive mat that keeps developing blue pumpkin rinds off wet mud. Balancing Potassium and Calcium for Thick Rind Integrity Excessive raw manure nitrogen produces lush dark-green foliage at the expense of delayed flowering and thin, easily bruised rinds. ...
Read more

Winter Greenmarket Economics: Why Stored Blue Pumpkins Stand Out in January NY Markets

Every October, Northeast farm stands flood with ornamental orange pumpkins—only for leftover inventory to be composted on November 1. By shifting acreage into culinary blue pumpkins bred for winter storage, small New York diversified farms transform a saturated autumn crop into a sought-after January and February staple. Supply Scarcity Meets Winter Culinary Demand By mid-December at NYC Greenmarkets, Ithaca winter markets, and Saratoga indoor markets, local field-grown produce narrows to storage roots, cabbages, and greenhouse greens. Stacked pyramids of slate-blue Jarrahdale and Queensland Blue pumpkins stop winter foot traffic immediately—and once home cooks taste their dense, chestnut-sweet roasted flesh, repeat winter visits follow. Whole Fruit vs. Wedged Culinary Formats While rural farm stands move whole 8-pound blue pumpkins steadily throughout winter, urban winter market growers often halve, seed, and wrap 2-pound wedges showcasing the vibrant deep-orange interi...
Read more

Winter Storage Mastery: Curing Blue Pumpkins to Last Until March Without Rot

Harvesting a clean crop of blue pumpkins in October is only half the equation; holding 90 percent marketable weight through January and February is where winter farm resilience is won. Unlike root vegetables such as carrots or beets that demand near-freezing damp air, blue winter squash require warm dry curing followed by cool, moderate-humidity storage. Phase 1: The 10-Day Warm Curing Window (80F to 85F) Immediately after harvest, move blue pumpkins into a well-ventilated curing room or sunny high tunnel bench held at 80F to 85F with 75 percent relative humidity for 10 to 14 days. This curing phase suberizes minor harvest scratches, hardens the slate-blue rind, and dries the stem attachment into a tight woody seal that blocks Fusarium and black rot spores. Phase 2: Long-Term Barn or Basement Storage (50F to 55F) Never store blue pumpkins in a 34F walk-in cooler alongside cabbage or apples. Below 50F, Cucurbita maxima suffers chilling injury—invisible internal tissue...
Read more