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Pumpkin Baby Bear

Pumpkin Baby Bear

  • Features: Perfectly proportioned small pumpkins with smooth, deep orange skins and solid, dark green stems. Easy to grip handles.
  • Maturity: 105 days / .5-1 kg fruit weight (1-2 lbs.).
  • Light: Plant in full sun.
  • Soil and water: Pumpkins grow best in loose, well-worked, well-drained soil rich in organic matter, with a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Add aged compost to planting beds in advance of sowing. Pumpkin plants tolerate short periods of hot, dry weather, but it's best to keep them well watered. Regular, even watering keeps vines and fruit growing without interruption.
  • Spacing: Plant pumpkins in raised mounds 20 to 30 cm (8"-12") high and 30 to 45 cm (12"-18") across. Space hills 1.5 to 2.4m (5'-8') apart. Thin to the 2 or 3 strongest seedlings per hill. When plants have 4 to 6 true leaves, thin to only 1 or 2 plants per hill. Cut off thinned seedlings at soil level to avoid disturbing the roots of the remaining plant.
  • Height: Pumpkin plants grow or crawl on the ground.
  • Garden use: Garden beds. Pumpkins require ample room for growing.
  • Growing tips: Disease resistant. Cultivate or mulch to control weeds. For decorative use, pick pumpkins (with stem attached) when rinds are hard but before heavy frost.
  • Culinary use: Cure pumpkins in direct sun at 75° to 80°F for 2 weeks; then store at 50° to 55°F, in a dry, well-ventilated place for 3 to 6 months. Do not refrigerate. Pumpkins in storage will shrink as much as 20 percent in weight but are still suitable for cooking. Pumpkin can be pureed and frozen for up to 6 months. Pumpkin also can be frozen or canned.
Pick pumpkins when they are deeply coloured, deep orange or golden white and stems and vines have dried and turned brown. The rind should be hard, not easily penetrated by a finger nail. Use a pruning shears to cut the vine; leave 5 to 10 cm (2"-4") of stem attached to the pumpkin so that it does not readily dry out. Harvest before the first freeze or pumpkins will turn soft.

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