![]() ![]() Pumpkin adds lots of flavor to your diet with very few calories. Each pumpkin contains vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, and barely any fat. They are also great for long storage.Īs well as being easy to cook with, the pumpkins are healthy too. These qualities make the pumpkin superior to many other pumpkin varieties. Because the flesh has no strings, it is easy to make a pumpkin pie or add it to soups for a rich flavor. Long Island Cheese Pumpkins are the perfect pumpkin for cooking. The pumpkins have a longer storage life than many other pumpkin varieties. After curing, store the pumpkins in a cool, dry place. After harvesting, leave the pumpkins in the sunshine or inside a warm, dry room for ten days to cure.Ĭured pumpkins will have hardened skin and fewer imperfections. Cut the pumpkin off the vine, leaving about two inches of stem on top. If the leaves have begun to wither, then the pumpkin is reaching maturity.Ī fully mature Long Island Cheese Pumpkin will range in weight between six to ten pounds. Another method to check your pumpkin’s maturity is to look at the leaves on its vine. If you can pierce the skin, the pumpkin is not quite mature. Not sure if your pumpkins are ready for harvesting? Start by gently pressing into the pumpkin’s skin with your fingernail. ![]() Less water before maturation will result in less watery flesh and a more flavorful crop. A week or two before the pumpkin matures, reduce the amount of water the plants receive. Continue watering and fertilizing the pumpkin plants. Whether you start your pumpkins inside or outside, the young seedlings and sprouts require plenty of light and even moisture. ![]() Then transplant the biodegradable pots that have sprouts in them into the mounds. Keep the pumpkin starting at a temperature between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the germinating seeds inside for about three or four weeks. Plant one seed into a small biodegradable pot. If the frost lasts late into the season, you can start your seeds inside. You could attempt to transplant the weaker sprouts in a new mound however, they may not survive the change in environment. If multiple seeds sprout in one stack, remove all but the healthiest sprouts. Plant a few seeds about two inches deep into each of the mounds. Make sure to build your garden bed in an area that receives ample sunlight throughout the entire day. It is important to space the piles out, or the pumpkin vines will crowd each other out. Every five feet or so, create a small mound of soil mixed with manure and compost. Once the frost has passed, begin preparing your garden beds for the pumpkins.īe sure to use a soil mixture that is nutrient-rich and drains well. If you plant your pumpkin seeds outside, it is necessary to wait a few weeks after the last frost to ensure that the soil has thawed/warmed and that the weather will not turn cold again. Because this pumpkin does not require an extended growth period (like the Atlantic Giant pumpkin), you can wait to plant the seeds until about two weeks after the last frost. One of these pumpkins can reach maturity in about 100 days. This pumpkin requires a shorter growing period than some of the other heirloom pumpkin varieties like Jarrahdale or Fairytale. “In the 1800s, cookbooks and farmers almanacs in the Long Island Sound frequently cited the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin as a regional favorite, and in 1807, Bernard McMahon introduced the pumpkin to the commercial market, and was promoted in the 1800s as the quintessential variety for making pumpkin pie.” Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, Ark of Taste, Slow Food How to grow a Long Island Cheese pumpkin? This variety is now very popular among specialty growers, especially those farming and gardening in climates with short warm growing seasons. One man, Ken Ettlinger, started collecting the seeds from the pumpkins he purchased and revived the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin variety ( source: Hudson Valley Seeds). I prefer this for decoration more than for cooking.” Purely Pumpkin: More Than 100 Seasonal Recipes to Share, Savor, and Warm Your Kitchen, by Allison DayĪlthough once a popular pumpkin, the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin began to disappear in the 1970s. “ Long Island Cheese: Large and pastel orange (named for its cheese wheel-esque appearance) with a rich, hearty taste. Chefs favored this pumpkin originating from Long Island for its flavorful, stringless flesh. It closely resembles a wheel of cheese in many ways. The pumpkin received its unique name because of its shape and coloring. Farmers began cultivating the pumpkin for commercial sale, referring to it as the Cheese Pumpkin. ![]() One of the first squash varieties ever domesticated for food was the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin. Cooking with Long Island Cheese pumpkin Long Island Cheese pumpkin basics ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |