Red kuri squash Divine F1 plants - Cucurbita maxima

The Divine F1 pumpkin is an early and productive variety that produces 6 to 8 fruits per plant in 85 days. They weigh between 800 grams and 1.5 kilos. This squash, shaped like a pretty spinning top, is covered with an orange skin that contains firm flesh with a sweet and sugary flavor.

The Divine F1 pumpkin plug plants can be planted from May to July, after the last frost, for a harvest from August to October.

Pumpkins, potimarrons, and giraumons belong to the Cucurbitaceae family and the species Cucurbita maxima. This annual herbaceous plant has long, vigorous, trailing, and climbing stems with strong tendrils. Each plant has separate male and female flowers, making it monoecious; it is the female flowers that will produce the fruits once they are pollinated by the pollen from the male flowers.

They come in many shapes and colours, from large ribbed fruits in orange or red with orange flesh, to oblong shapes, pear shapes, or "Turkish hat" shapes. Originally from South America, this species is believed to have been introduced to Europe in the 16th or 17th century, along with its cousins, the other species of Cucurbita. They are often mistakenly called "pumpkins" even though they belong to a different species, Cucurbita pepo, with fibrous and stringy flesh. As for the pumpkin, it has sweet and flavorful flesh that is less stringy, with a tender and spongy stem.

Pumpkins are rich in vitamins and trace elements, low in calories, rich in potassium, and have antioxidant properties.

Harvest and storage:

The squash should be harvested as late as possible, without risking the first frosts. Keep the stem as large as possible and store them in a temperate room (10 to 15°C (50 to 59°F)) without letting them touch. This way, you can store them for several months to a year.

Gardener's tip:

You can bury the stems at the nodes to encourage rooting.

To save space and protect your fruits from rot, you can grow pumpkins on supports such as a trellis or sturdy frames.

During fruit ripening, you can place a tile or brick, for example, between the ground and the fruit to isolate it and limit potential rotting. A thick mulch will also do the trick.