Squash Uchiki-Kuri plants - Cucurbita maxima

The Pumpkin or 'Uchiki Kuri' Potimarron is an excellent variety, productive and early. A climber, it produces about 5 fruits per plant, medium-sized (12 to 22 cm (5 to 9in), 1.2 to 1.5 kg) in the shape of a pear, Red orange, their thin and tender skin reveals a thick flesh with a delicious chestnut taste. This Potimarron benefits from excellent storage.

The 'Uchiki Kuri' Potimarron belongs to the Kabocha group, a cultivar of Japanese origin within the species Cucurbita maxima. Pumpkins, potimarrons and giraumons belong to the cucurbitaceae family. This herbaceous annual plant has long, vigorous, sprawling or climbing stems with the help of strong tendrils. Each plant has separate male and female flowers; it is the female flowers that will produce the fruits once fertilized by the pollen from the male flowers.

They come in many shapes and colours, from large ribbed orange or red fruits with orange flesh, to oblong shapes, pear shapes or "Turkish hat" shapes. Originally from South America, this species is said to have been introduced to Europe in the 16th or 17th century. They are often mistakenly called "pumpkins" when they actually belong to a different species, Cucurbita pepo, with fibrous and hard peduncles. As for the pumpkin, it has a sweet, tasty and less fibrous flesh with a tender and spongy peduncle.

Pumpkins are rich in vitamins and trace elements in addition to being low in calories, rich in potassium and having antioxidant properties.

Harvest and storage

Harvest the squash as late as possible, without risking the first frosts. Keep the peduncle as large as possible and store them in a temperate room (10 to 15°C (50 to 59°F)). This way, you can keep them for a few months to a year, avoiding them touching each other.

Gardener's tips

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

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