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August 26, 2004
Perfect pumpkins
Pumpkins, courgettes and cucumbers belong to the cucurbita family of plants which are either climbers or bushes. Zahrah Nasir describes how these can be grown at home
Growing pumpkins and other members of the cucurbita family of plants is not quite as problematic in Karachi and Lahore, as people tend to think. Naturally this wonderful range of useful vegetables, including cucumbers, loki, torai, teenda and courgettes, perform well in other areas of the country including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta to say nothing of all the places in between.
Planting time varies depending on the local climate with seed sowing starting in Karachi at the beginning of October through to the end of January; January to April in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar; March in Quetta and March to May in the northern areas.
Such a range of planting time illustrates the different climates experienced throughout the country as a whole and makes one realize just how large Pakistan is when it comes down to weather conditions. You name it, at some time of the year somewhere in the country, we have it.
Soil, that all important growing medium, should be very rich in plant food. It should also be well drained as although these plants require quite a lot of precious water at the fruiting stage, they do not like to have their roots waterlogged for any period of time.
Basically, a good mix of sand, soil, compost and manure, all in equal parts, is first rate for this purpose. It is also a good idea if you build mounds of this mix, about 12 inches high and three feet in diameter, or long ridges 12 inches high with three feet between rows, in which to plant your seeds directly. A mound is suitable for three plants of any of the mentioned varieties and, along a ridge, plants should be spaced at a distance of two to three feet.
Seeds, usually on the large side, though cucumber seed can be quite small, should be planted at a depth equal to three to four times the length of each seed and all of this seed needs to be planted ‘on edge’, not flat, in order to maximize germination rates.
In the initial stages, just after sowing the seed and until the plants are well established, they should be given water, preferably in the evening so that they have the cool of the night to drink their fill before having to face the heat of the day.
Watering should never be done when the sun is shining onto the plants or else the leaves will be damaged. Initial watering should be close to the base of the plant or, even earlier, around where you have planted your seeds. Marking the exact location of each seed by sticking a piece of twig by its side may be helpful at this stage.
Once plants are up and growing well and their roots are reaching down into the earth, then watering can be done by flooding between ridges or in shallow trenches made around mounds, every two or three days. The plants will soon let you know if they are thirsty as the leaves will wilt. Don’t be tempted to overwater though, especially in Karachi, as the excess humidity caused by water lying around adds to the already humid weather and will often result in debilitating mildew and other diseases which badly affect your crop of homegrown vegetables.
When deciding which variety of cucurbita to grow, consideration must be given to the amount of room you have in your garden.
Pumpkins, both the plants and the fruits, can reach enormous size and really do best if they have some kind of fence, wall or other framework to climb on. This also keeps the pumpkins out of direct contact with the soil so they are less likely to rot or be attacked by boring insects, the kind that drill holes through the tough pumpkin skin in order to feast on the tasty insides and lay their eggs there.
Actually, the more free air flows around a pumpkin, there is a lesser chance of the fruit going bad. As the fruits grow, they may need to be supported in a net to prevent breakage or, if this isn’t suitable, then something like an empty wooden vegetable carton, with a ‘nest’ of dry grass on which the pumpkin can sit, which can be inserted underneath the expanding fruit.
Cucumbers also need to climb and can be grown against walls, sticks or netting. They can also be grown in plant pots and do quite well. Some varieties are also suitable for growing in flower borders, may be at the back, particularly those with unusually coloured fruits, such as pure white.
I’ve grown cucumbers in the garden of a ground floor, Seaview apartment, front row at that and they did quite well.
Loki and torai also enjoy something to clamber over and will spread for a huge distance if they get the chance. Their stems though, tend to support more weight than those of pumpkin plants so the fruit does not, as a rule, require support.
Teenda, courgettes and other bushy varieties of cucurbita don’t need support at all and, if you have constraints in space, they can be grown in plant pots.
Unless carefully hand pollinated, a tricky procedure which I won’t go into here, most members of the cucurbita family will happily cross pollinate with each other. This means that if you are able to keep seed from this seasons fruits, and plant them the next time around, what you grew as an orange coloured pumpkin may well be green with orange patterns, or it could be yellow with green splotches and a teenda seed might produce a courgette or vice versa. It’s all part of the fun of growing your own vegetables and some of the cross bred varieties can be fairly incredible to see.
So, if you have the space, or a few plant pots, then give a try growing some of these delightful vegetables. It can be most rewarding.
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