Tuesday, September 1, 2009

It’s the Great {heirloom} Pumpkin, Charlie B

Look at what I found hiding in my pumpkin & squash patch yesterday. I don’t know how I missed it. Jaune Gros de Paris weighs 24.6 pounds.

great_pumpkin

 

I planted a patch of heirloom squash and pumpkins early this Summer. We’ve had a few green & yellow zucchini, one spaghetti squash, and a couple little patty pans.  I’ve checked it every day, hoping to find a pumpkin, or at least a baby pumpkin. The fruits have been few and far between, however the blossoms have been plentiful. (I think we need more bees around here.)  So I can’t tell you how excited I was to find this big gem yesterday.

This is my first year planting anything heirloom. We had several heirloom tomato varieties that did well until the blight/fungus thing hit. The pumpkin seeds came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri. Here is Baker Creek’s description of Jaune Gros de Paris:

“The beautiful giant pumpkin of historic Paris, the big pinkish-yellow fruit can grow to over 100 lbs. They are round, flattened and have light ribbing. They are good keepers and are still popular in France. Good in pies, soups and baked. A winner for farm markets!”

Hmmm, pumpkin pie? Pumpkin soup? I’ll think on it while I sit back and admire Jaune. And, next year I’ll shoot for more than one pumpkin.

sig3

18 comments:

Mary Ann said...

Tammy,

I think I will order some of those seeds for my hubby for next year! I think he would enjoy trying to grow a huge pumpkin like that! We grew a fine crop of Sugar Pie Pumpkins this year. They are the best for making pies of bread. If you want some free Sugar Pie Pumkpkin seeds to grown next year just let me know. I will have plenty of seeds. We grew our pumkins this year from last years seeds.

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

What a beautiful pumpkin! Sitting on the chair, that photograph is pretty enough to frame. Do you use photoshop to put your name on your pictures?
I need to figure out a way to do that, but won't spend the money on photoshop.

McVal said...

Wow! That's huge! You'll have to let us know what you do with it!

Keeper of the Home said...

How pretty!!!

~Mrs. M

Debbie said...

Holy moley that's a beauty.

Jackie said...

So pretty. I love the picture...Looks like it's straight out of Country Living Magazine!

Unknown said...

How adorable! That is the prettiest pumpkin I have ever seen! I planted heirloom pumpkins too this year and while they are fairly proliferous they are absolutely nowhere as cute as this prize! Congrats!! I hope I can find some Jaune Gros seeds in Canada next year, the thought of une citrouille francaise dans mon jardin is very exciting!!
~Andrea~

Down On The Farm said...

That is one gorgeous pumpkin :)!!!!!!

Unknown said...

i LOVE it!!!!!

The Urban Cowboy said...

That would make a great canvas for Halloween.

Elle Bee said...

OOooh, that pumpkin is totally fantastic! Pumpkins are one of my most favorite things in this life and I totally should have tried growing one like yours--it's got so much character! I tried growing an heirloom tomato this year and it produced NOTHING though. So my heirloom growing abilities need to be honed...
Elle

Karen said...

Beautiful! I don't think I could bear to cut it up.

Lois Christensen said...

What a great find!! None of our pumpkins took. I don't know what we did wrong! I was so hopeful, they were doing so well and then they just died. Hubby wants to try again next year, but I'm not so sure. I love the shape of yours! Enjoy your weekend!

Mary @ Neat and Tidy said...

What a funky pumpkin!! I think I'd keep it just to decorate with. Thanks for the heirloom link.

Tammy, I just love your blog.

Q said...

So beautiful!
Nice that it was a surprise too. If I had a darling like that growing in my garden I would have worried over it all summer.
I have been to Baker Creek for the Fall Festival. He has a wonderful story.
All I grow is heirloom....
seed to seed as much as possible too.
Wonderful photograph!
Happy September.
Sherry

Phyllis said...

HOw in the world did you miss that monster??? :)

Cheryl said...

Wow, congrats! What a neat looking pumpkin, never heard of them before. We aren't very experienced at gardening...yet?!? We have a mystery plant growing where we dump the chicken manure, it spreads over a very large spot, and we are not sure what it is, a gourd or some sort of squash, it is quite far from the house and the deer have been tasting it......so we'll let it grow some more and see what it becomes!

mustard seeds said...

That is a pretty pumpkin. Can you save the seeds to plant next year? When do you plant them, and how long do they take to mature?
Sheila

Blog Widget by LinkWithin