From the Garden: September 18

The last of the summer squash has been harvested and it is now the season for winter squash. The distinction between these two classes of Cucurbits is that summer squash are harvested while the fruit is still immature and is meant to be consumed shortly after gathering. They are almost all members of the Cucurbita pepo species.

The winter squash and pumpkins are members of several species and are harvested when fully mature. At this stage they have generally thicker skin and can be stored long into the winter months. The distinction between a squash and a pumpkin is a bit arbitrary and relies more on shape than on taxonomic classification. Simply put, pumpkins are generally roundish and squash are not.

This does not serve as a universal distinction. A case in point is what I call the cheese pumpkin and is known by others as the Long Island cheese squash. If we are to follow the roundish rule, I propose that pumpkin better fits the fruit. But it is an issue for the lexiconographers to decide and far beyond the understanding of a simple gardener, so I withdraw from the argument and let others produce a verdict.

We are growing two varieties of winter Curcubita this season: the cheese pumpkin and the Canadian crookneck squash. Both are members of the Cucurbita moschata species and have the singular advantage over members of the common Cucurbita pepo species in that they are not susceptible to the squash vine borer that is so devastating to all members of the latter class. This insect has become so pervasive in our garden that we have decided to leave off planting any winter squash of the Cucubita pepo species for several years which will hopefully exhaust the reservoir of vine borer pupae left in the soil.

For an exhaustive survey of the Cucurbita genus, you are encouraged to examine “Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg way, 18th century methods for today’s organic gardeners ” (Rodale Press) .