Pumpkin Kuri Red

Botanical name:  Curcubita maxima

Usually available:  Spring

Life cycle:  Annual

Size:  H 40cm L 2-3m

Position:  Full sun

Soil preference:  Moist, well drained

Size supplied:  40mm tube

WE DO NOT OFFER SHIPPING. COLLECTION ONLY FROM HARVEST MARKET, LAUNCESTON ON SATURDAYS OR FARM GATE MARKET, HOBART ON SUNDAYS.

Come and see us direct at the market to purchase our tube seedlings.

Also known as Hokkaido Pumpkin and Potimarron. A very popular Japanese variety with a light nutty flavour. Fruits are small teardrop shaped with orange skin and flesh. Grows to around 3kg. Great for baking, steaming and stuffing. This pumpkin is high yielding and long lasting.

Pumpkins love a good feed so dig in plenty of compost and well-rotted manure before planting. They need plenty of space to meander. They will grow along trellising, but ensure it can support a lot of weight. Hand pollination may be necessary if you are short on pollinators. This can be done by removing a male flower and rubbing the stamen against a female (the one with the mini fruit forming below). Harvest when the vine has died back and the part attached turns woody and corky. Leave around 5-10cm of stalk on the fruit and cut with secateurs, don’t tear. If the ‘handle’ breaks off the pumpkin, it will cause the fruit to go mouldy within days.