Noticing xii - pumpkins

Atlantic giant pumpkin

Today I happened to drive out into the fields of the Salinas Valley, in search of a geocache. My prize was in a guardrail on a narrow road next to Borchard Pumpkin Farm, home of an annual giant pumpkin weigh-off. There are various categories, including heaviest, of course, but also ugliest and prettiest; heaviest zucchini and watermelon (watermelon? now?); and biggest beet, tomato, bushel gourd, and long gourd. Who knew? Well, apparently lots of people know, because the event (which occurred on October 19) is attended by up to a thousand people, who come for the contest and for a barbecue.

Howden pumpkins

That got me wondering about pumpkins, though. It turns out what we typically think of as a "pumpkin" is one of many dozens of squashes in the Cucurbita pepo species—which also includes acorn squash, pattypan squash, spaghetti squash, and both yellow and green zucchini. Butternut squash is in a different species, C. moschata, while Hubbard and turban squash are C. maxima cultivars—as is the Atlantic giant, which is what Borchard Pumpkin Farm seems to specialize in, judging by all the giant pumpkins lining the roadside. They range in size from 150 pounds to a ton.

The typical Halloween jack-o-lantern is a Connecticut field pumpkin—or a cultivar thereof, the Howden pumpkin—while the smaller and sweeter New England pie pumpkin is another cultivar of the Connecticut field pumpkin. It's all about genetics. (And in this way squashes, gourds, and pumpkins are very similar to chili peppers, most of which are cultivars of a single species, Capsicum annuum.)

It's been years since I carved a pumpkin. Halloween isn't a happening holiday in our neighborhood. It's fun to do, though. Maybe I should pick up a pumpkin and give it a shot. 'Tis the season, after all.