Some extraordinary gardeners like Virgil Severns and Terry Reichardt have been growing winter squash in Alaska for years, but for us ordinary gardeners it is becoming a much more reliable and viable crop. I have.
If you’re gardening for food security, pumpkins are a great option because they can be stored unfrozen or stored (by the way, according to the National Home Food Preservation Center, pumpkins and pumpkins at home. It cannot be preserved, but winter pumpkins can be made into cubes). When stored as-is, it’s time for autumn madness when cooking and eating all the fresh ingredients from the garden, preserving inedibles, choosing berries and fish, and hunting. Can be saved. Winter squash, in contrast to green, not only actually provides some calories, but is also archaic, friendly, gluten-free, delicious and nutritious. If you don’t have the space to grow pumpkins, you can find locally available winter squash here (www.buyalaskagrown.com).
At Fairbanks, some varieties are working incredibly well in non-replicated trials. In 2020, spaghetti squash produced £ 85 per plant and geteocosomin produced £ 48 per plant. Harvest month and red kuri squash performed best in 2021, producing 35 and 43 pounds of pumpkin per plant, respectively. Gete-Okosomin, red kuri, Lakota and Honeyboat outperformed the charts in terms of taste.
Twelve types of winter squash are being tested at Fairbanks this year, so stay tuned for the results. Winter squash did not work very well in non-replicated trials at the Matanuska Experiment Farm. Glenna Gannon, Head of Vegetable Variety Testing, believes that Typar landscape fabric, infrared transmission, or IRT plastic was not used, the temperature was lower than Fairbanks, and the grafts may not have been fertilized. increase. She believes that hoop houses and high tunnels can make all the difference in growing winter squash well in the cool areas of the Matanuska Valley and Alaska.
Pumpkins of acorns, butternuts, delicates, and sweet dumplings are sensitive to long days, and as a result, they do not reliably bloom, especially in northern Alaska.
It is recommended to sow the seeds in a 4-inch pot from late April to early May and transplant them outdoors after the risk of frost has disappeared. You can also cover the crops with a frost cloth or cover the crops for added protection in case of frost. Like most vegetables, a near-neutral pH is ideal for pumpkins. They are heavy nitrogen feeders.
If space is available, plant pumpkins elsewhere each year to minimize disease and pests. To grow winter squash, it is advisable to use one or more seasonal extension techniques (plastic mulch, low tunnel, high tunnel, greenhouse). In the Fairbanks test, pumpkins were planted in infrared transmissive mulch and the space between rows was covered with typers. Typers help keep squash clean to minimize rot. It also helps generate a lot of heat.
In rainy areas of Alaska, low tunnels, high tunnels, or greenhouses are important to protect pumpkins from the rain and raise temperatures.
If you have a small space like me, consider planting one or two plants in the bush, or semi-bush varieties such as pinnacles (spaghetti squash), bonbons, and gold nugget bushes. These can be 6 feet apart and 1.5 to 2 feet apart. For long binning varieties, the plants should be 2-3 feet apart and the rows 12 feet apart.
According to Oregon State University, pumpkins are ready to be harvested when the stems dry and become “corky”, when the pumpkin plants die, or when it is predicted to be rainy.
Johnny’s Seeds recommends that the pumpkins cure at 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit and 75-85% relative humidity for 5-10 days before being stored in a cool, dry and well-ventilated place for extended periods of time. Ideally for storage, a temperature range of 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of 50-75%. The storage potential of various varieties is 2 to 6 months, and some seeds require some storage time to be palatable. A study in western Oregon found that a much wider range of temperatures and humidity was acceptable as long as storage was below freezing.
One of the hurdles to eating a winter squash is chopping it up. The Eat Winter Vegetable Project proposes to use a chef’s knife of at least 8 inches or more, cut the edges of the pumpkin to make a flat surface, and slice the pumpkin vertically on a cutting board. If it is slippery, use a towel to secure it to the cutting board. There are also some helpful videos that showcase different techniques for chopping, cooking and peeling pumpkins.
Personally, I’ve found that cutting off the edges, piercing with a fork and heating in the microwave for about 3 minutes (even for large pumpkins) makes it much easier to peel and chop the pumpkin. rice field. Some of my favorite recipes are maple syrup and pistachio crumble, squash and green onion gratin, ricotta, cider vinegar and squash toast.
Oregon State University has some great videos and recipes, information on growing and storing different varieties, and takes a closer look at pumpkins and buttercup squash (these types grow well in Alaska). Johnny’s Seeds uses this chart to compare storage potential, average pumpkin weight, and grape length: bit.ly/3ztZIJT.
..
