It’s been a weird year for gardening, and with Fall finally upon us, I wish we had a bit more to harvest. One of our apparent successes this year is technically still a work-in-progress, but I wanted to highlight it here on The Rock Father Gardening Blog: Pumpkin on a Stick. For the past two seasons, Addie and I have purchased a variety of “fun” seed packets from a local greenhouse (which sadly closed this past July after around 30 years of business), mostly gourds and a few other oddities from a company called Livingston Seed.
This is the second time we’ve attempted to grow Pumpkin on a Stick, but the first year we’ve had success. The seeds are incredibly small, yet a tasty treat for the local chipmunks and some passing birds. We’ve tried these by starting the seed inside, and by planting direct in-ground. This year, a few of the plants we’d started inside have done really well. The plants themselves (actually a type of eggplant – not a “real” pumpkin) are around 3 feet tall and covered in leafy foliage. We had a scare a month or so ago where some type of bug – possibly weevils – started attacking the leaves. Some “organic” bug spray caused damage to the plants within an hour, browning and shriveling the leaves. I cut the damaged leaves and the plants have rebounded nicely. As for the fruit…
Right now, the fruits are mostly green and appear to be developing from the small white flowers much like a tomato or pepper would. The pumpkin-like shape is certainly there, and with a little luck, they’ll all be nice and orange by October. I’ve intentionally placed these plants next to our front walkway in hopes of incorporating them into our Fall/Halloween decor as a “live” specimen. I’ll update on their progress as Halloween approaches.
Have any of you had experience with Pumpkin on a Stick? If so, share your thoughts below!
