Pumpkin Australian Butter seeds - Cucurbita maxima

The Winter Squash 'Australian Butter' is an old Australian trailing variety sought after for the delicious quality of its fruits. This variety produces round and tall pumpkins, ribbed, flattened, covered with a moderately hard orange epidermis. Each fruit weighs between 5 and 8 kg. The orange flesh is thick, dry, slightly floury, well-flavoured, with a very fruity and slightly sweet taste. In the centre, the cavity containing the seeds is small. This variety is useful for making soups, gratins, pies, jams, custards... Untouched fruits can be stored for 3 to 5 months in a cool, dry place. This variety produces reproducible seeds, the seeds can be collected for sowing the following year. Sow in April-May for a harvest from July to October.

Pumpkins, kabochas and cushaws belong to the Cucurbitaceae family and the species Cucurbita maxima. This annual herbaceous plant has long, vigorous, trailing stems, even climbing with the help of strong tendrils. Each plant has separate male and female flowers, it is said to be monoecious; it is the latter that will produce fruits once fertilised by the pollen of the former. The flowers are edible, just like courgette flowers. They can be stuffed or used in fritters for example.

The fruits of these squashes come in many shapes and colours, from large ribbed, orange or red fruits with orange flesh, to oblong shapes, pear shapes or 'Turk's turban' shapes. Originally from South America, the species Cucurbita maxima is said to have been introduced to Europe around the 16th or 17th century, like its cousins, other species of Cucurbita. They are often wrongly called "pumpkins" when they belong to a different species, Cucurbita pepo, with stringy flesh and a hard, fibrous stalk. As for the pumpkin, it has sweet, tasty, less stringy flesh, with a tender and spongy stalk.

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

Harvest and storage:

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

Gardener's tips:

• Prepare the planting holes two weeks in advance, filling them with compost or organic matter.
• During growth, 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 stakes.
• During fruit ripening, you can place a tile or a brick for example, between the ground and the fruit to insulate it and limit premature rotting. A thick mulch will also do the trick.