I know the exact moment I fell in love with pumpkins and winter squash. When I was training I had a placement at a large walled garden which was part of a day care centre for people with learning disabilities. I started in September, for a three month stint, scarcely realising the extent to which I had lucked out. It was a truly glorious time to be in a large, well-run vegetable garden. We picked armfuls of tomatoes and peppers from the steamy polytunnels, stacked up firewood from the woods, and – of course – cured pumpkins. I remember the weight of the winter squash as we shipped them one by one from the plot to the cold frame, and then laying them in there, cheek by jowl, long, thin and crook-necked next to fat and round, bumpy next to smooth, red next to yellow next to blue. And I remember standing and thinking just how breathtaking they looked when we had finished.
It's possibly also the moment I fell in love with vegetable growing, and so I have always grown winter squash since. This year I grew 'Burgess Vine Buttercup' from Real Seeds, and I find myself unexpectedly disappointed. I have no beef whatsoever with Real Seeds, they are a wonderful company, and, in a way, no real beef with 'Burgess Vine Buttercup'. I chose it because the description read "one of the best eating squashes ever" and it lives up to its billing. It's delicious, particularly roasted with oil and garlic, until the edges caramelise. No, I am having to admit that I am much more shallow than that and my problem is that 'Burgess Vine Buttercup' is dull green and warty. I want a stunning autumnal show from my winter squash. 'Burgess Vine Buttercup' just isn't pretty enough for me.
So next year I will be going all out for looks and growing 'Uchiki Kuri' (pictured above), a small, round glowing orange squash that I have grown and loved before, and 'Queensland Blue', a huge steel-blue one that I have always meant to try. And when they have ripened I will arrange them next to each other and admire the way they set each other off and make each other glow. Eventually, slightly reluctantly, I may eat them too.
Do you prioritise flavour over looks when it comes to choosing what to grow? Or have you found a pumpkin variety that's both delicious and stunning?
