that receives ample sunlight and is

Pumpkin, marrow, not too protected from the wind.

Varieties
Pumpkin and winter squash
Butter pumpkin is the earliest
maturity pumpkin. It matures five
10 six weeks before the keeping
varieties. With adequate care it
will keep for a limited period.
Windsor Black is almost as
early as Butter Pumpkin.
Butternut grows on a small vine
and fruit are pear shaped and 1
to 2 kg in mass. Baby Blue also
has a small semi-running vine and
small fruit. Golden Nuggett is a
small bush pumpkin with small
round orange fruit up to 1 kg in
mass.
Queensland Blue is one of the
most popular varieties of pumpkin.
It is later than those mentioned
already and it is a long keeper.
Triamble is also a mid-season to
late variety, with good keeping
qualities. Crown Prince has
Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima and smooth grey fruit of moderate size.
C . n~oschata)marrow and squash It, too, is a good keeper.
(Cucurbita pepo) are all members Buttercup grows on a small
of the large Cucurbit family. They compact vine with fruit of
are all warm season vegetables medium size. Banana Squash has
and are sensitives to frost damage. long fruit, not unlike a marrow. It
Plantings should be made as soon has a dry flesh and is a good
as possible after the last frost. keeper. Green Warted Hubbard
Marrows and summer squash are is also a large squash. It has
harvested when the fruits 'are heavily warted fruit which keeps
nearly mature. Pumpkin and winter well. Table Queen has a small
squash are harvested when the pear-shaped fruit which can be
fruits are fully mature. Some cut in halves and served baked.
varieties keep very well and can
be used throughout the winter. Marrows and summer squash
Space is the main factor which Marrows and summer squash can-
limits the growing of these veget- not be stored ; they have moist
ables in the home garden, although flesh and soft immature skins.
bush marrows and some squash Bush or non-running marrows
can be grown as close as one are especially suited to gardens
metre. where space is limited. They can
Pumpkins and marrows are be grown at 1 metre by 1 metre
useful in conditioning new ground. spacing. Suitable varieties of
In this case, they can be allowed marrows include Long White
to run without much pruning back. Bush, and Long Green Bush.
Their heavy foliage suppresses Zucchini marrows are picked
weeds. Choose an open position very immature at 100 to 150 mm
In
in ength.
1' They are cooked with
the
the skins attached.
PPopular summer squash
vari
vareties are Early Golden Bush,
Early Summer Crookneck, Early
"
bummer Straightneck and Early
White Bush.
Soil preparation and fertilisers
Dig the whole plot deeply and
then work in a liberal quantity of
organic manure. After levelling
the bed, make holes about 250 mm
deep and 200 to 250 mm in
diameter at the correct planting
distance and put half a bucket of
rotted manure or compost at the
bottom of the hole. Fill in the
top soil so as to leave a small
mound or hill about 150 mm
above soil level, leaving a hollow
around the base. If organic
manure is not available, place
120 g of NPK 3 : 6 : 7 complete
fertiliser under each hill.
Sowing and planting
Dust seed with thiram and sow Queensland Blrie.
three seeds to each hill. The
seeds may also be sown in seed
boxes or better still, they can be
sown in groups of three in a pot
or jam tin. In this way, early
plants can be raised under cover,
or later, advanced plants may be
raised and held to plant after a
late spring or early summer crop
of other vegetables has been
harvested.
Cucurbit seedlings are very
brittle. Transplant with plenty of
soil around the roots. Pumpkins
should be sown in hills 2 metres by
2 metres while small bush marrows
can be spaced as close as 1 metre
by 1 metre.
Cultivation and watering
The large leaf area of vine crops
quickly smothers weed growth,
and cultivation should be kept to
a minimum as the cucurbits all
have shallow root systems. Draw
some soil up around the crown so
that water will drain away. Water
the crop by forming a saucer
around each hill rather than using
overhead sprinklers. Crown Prince.
 Radish
Red crisp radish (Raphanus
sativus) add color and texture tc
salads and hors d'oeuvres. They
are one of the easiest vegetables
to grow in the home garden. Good
radish must be grown quickly or
they will be tough, hot and pithy
and lack the fresh crispness which
makes them so attractive.
Radish can be grown year
round. They germinate in three
to five days, depending on soil
temperature, andthey are usually
ready to pull in five to six weeks.
They are frost hardy. Winter sow-
ines should be made in a warm
Curcuhit f7oioers car1 he hand-pollirzate d, and b y this method, rzearly elvery shiltered spot to ensure rapid
female power f o r m s frrrit.
growth.
French Breakfast variety is
Plastic mulching will help to pumpkins until they mature. This bright red and oval shaped with
warm up the soil. It has been is usually when the vine has died a white tipped root. The flavor
shown to increase yields and down. Leave about 50 to 75 mm is mild. Long Scarlet is also
produce earlier crops. Place the of stalk attached to the pumpkin bright red and mild in flavor but
black polythene over the plant by as diseases can enter through the has a long tapering root.
cutting holes in the sheet or sow wound if the stalk is removed. Cultural requirements for radish
or plant through slits in the Pumpkins are subject to injury are very similar to carrots (page
plastic. (See page 35). from cold, like other warm-season 80). They grow best on a light
plants, therefore attempt to well drained soil which is only
.Pollination harvest the pumpkins before the slightly acid. Soil should be well
Cucurbits produce separate male first frost. I n colder districts fertilised with an NPK 5 : 8 : 4
and female flowers. To obtain a make a stack of pumpkins complete fertiliser in addition to
good fruit set, it is desirable to separated with straw, rather than organic manure.
hand-pollinate the female flowers. placing the pumpkins separately Sow seed 25 mm apart row in
The plants can be kept within on shelves. The straw insulates a drill 20 mm deep, and cover
bounds by nipping back the tips of the pumpkins against low tem- with 10 mm of loam and firm
the main runners after they have peratures. down. Thin to 50 mm when
grown to a length of about 600 mm Stored pumpkins must be seedlings have produced their
from the base. This causes lateral inspected at regular intervals. second leaf. Radish must be kept
growth to form. It is upon these Those which are showing any well watered to maintain good
laterals that most of the female growth during the summer
signs of disease should be removed
flowers are formed. months.
from the stack. Correctly stored
By hand-pollinating, nearly
pumpkins should hold until
every female flower forms fruit.
September or October.
Plenty of medium-sized fruit will
be produced. If allowed to grow Summer squashes grow quickly
and, for best quality, should be
and pollinate naturally, vines tend
harvested before they are mature,
to straggle, and fewer, and per-
haps oversize fruit will be formed. for example, before the skin begins
to harden and the seeds reach full
Harvesting and storage size. The fruit is normally
Pumpkins for storage must be harvested when about 75 mm in
mature and have firm thick and diameter, but the quality does not
unbroken skins. deteriorate until after the fruit are
Queensland Blue, Triamble, and about 150 mm across. They can-
Crown Prince are three long-keep- not be stored like pumpkins or Radish- one of tlzc ensir.~t vegetables
ing varieties. Do not harvest winter squash. to grow i n the h o m e garden.