The Summer Vegetable Garden: Pumpkins!

Have you ever grown pumpkins?

The first pumpkin I ever grew.

Right now, 南瓜和辣椒、罗勒一起生长在我的夏季菜园里.

In June, 我种了4种不同类型的南瓜——灰姑娘(一种看起来很老式的南瓜), Lumina (a white pumpkin), Rouge Vif d 'Etampes(一种法国传家宝南瓜)和一些我去年在商店买的一个不知名的传家宝南瓜的种子.

Male pumpkin flower

南瓜藤长得很好，雄花也开始出现了.

南瓜有雄花和雌花——雄花比雌花早2周出现.

Lumina pumpkin

I’ve had both successes and some failures growing pumpkins.  Last year, I planted a Lumina pumpkin, which was so beautiful.

今年夏天，我决定把我的整个菜园都用来种南瓜.

Why an entire vegetable garden you may ask?

My first attempt at growing pumpkins began in my smaller vegetable garden, located just off of my back patio.

我还记得当我的南瓜幼苗长出第一对“真正的”叶子时，我是多么激动.  

But, what I had not prepared for was how wide it would grow – a lesson on why reading the label on the seed packet is important.

我的南瓜幼苗很快就长得超过了我的小菜园, most of its growth extended outside of the garden.

I patiently (not)! waited for signs of a young pumpkin to form.

你可以想象，当我发现这只小南瓜在几周后就长出来时，我是多么激动.

The only issue was that it was growing outside of my vegetable garden.

To be honest, 我其实并不在乎——那里有足够的空间放它，它似乎很高兴地栖息在我的花园软管上.

它长得相当快，很快它的绿色变成了美丽的橙色.

正如你所看到的，这不是一个大南瓜-小品种更容易在家里的花园种植.

White ‘Lumina’ pumpkin hidden underneath the leafy vines.

我对今年收成的希望是，我很快就能在我的南瓜藤巨大的叶子下找到小南瓜.

How about you?

Have you ever grown pumpkins?

What types?

Any helpful tips you’d like to share?

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On a personal note, I’ve been knocked flat by a virus – neverending cough, sore throat, headache, aches, fever, etc.

我总是觉得在盛夏而不是寒冷的冬季患上类似流感的疾病很令人惊讶, 哪一种方法更适合我，因为我的工作在夏天往往会慢下来.

7天之后，我慢慢地好起来了，感谢我生病的时机.  Next week – July 31st – August 2nd, I’ll be a presenter at the annual Hummingbird Festival 以我现在喉咙的状况，几乎不可能分别做两个1小时的演讲.

Sorry for complaining, I have a bad case of cabin fever, 但我的身体不适合做任何事情，除了今天早上在我的花园中散步10分钟，看看他们怎么样了——但那感觉太棒了!

I hope you are staying healthy this summer!

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a horticulturist, certified arborist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. 正如她喜欢告诉沙漠居民的，“在沙漠里做园艺并不难，但它是不同的。."