GROW YOUR OWN

is a quali ied horticulturist, trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is the gardening editor for BBC Gardeners’ World. This month, she shares advice on how to grow your own pumpkins.

PUMPKINS What should you look for when pumpkins are ready?

Check the colour your variety is meant to be when ripe, and use that as your guide. If you tap a ripe pumpkin, it should have a hollow-sounding ring.

What time of year are they grown?

Sow pumpkins under glass (in a greenhouse or on a windowsill indoors) in mid-spring, or outdoors in early summer. Plant outdoors in early summer and harvest by cutting them from the vine when ripe in autumn.

Are there di erent varieties of pumpkin?

Pumpkins are winter squashes, but are generally orange, with Jack o’ Lantern representing the typical Halloween type for carving. Rouge Vif d’etampes is a French ribbed type, popular for pies and baking, while Triple Treat is good for edible seeds. Try Baby Bear for a manageable vine size.

How easy is it to grow your own?

It’s not hard to grow pumpkins if you have an open, sunny site with fertile soil. If allowed to trail along the ground, they will root along the stems and draw the water and nutrients they need from the soil without much attention from the grower. In a small space, you can train them up a support.

What’s your favourite way to cook pumpkins?

I think pumpkin soup is the tastiest recipe – fry chunks of the —lesh and onions, add stock and simmer, then blend. The texture and taste is great and it’s simple to make. (Turn to page 30 for our recipe.)