Crop lessons · Cucurbits (squash family)
Growing Seminole pumpkin in Florida
Cucurbita moschata · Cucurbitaceae (squash family)
Seminole pumpkin is a Florida heirloom, grown by the Calusa, Creek and Miccosukee peoples, and one of the few squashes that carries on through a Florida summer. The fruits are small and sweet with orange flesh like butternut, and they keep for months. The vegetable gardening guide counts it among the disease-resistant tropical pumpkins. The main thing to plan for is space: the vines run 25 feet or more.1, 2, 3
Planting1, 2
| How to start | direct seed |
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| Spacing in the row (inches) | 48 (4 feet) |
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| Between rows (inches) | 72 to 108 (6 to 9 feet), or grow on a trellis |
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| Days to harvest | three to four months from planting (Seminole pumpkin page); 120 to 150 days (Pumpkins page) |
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Gardening Solutions: in frost-free parts of the state, plant from August to March. In North and Central Florida, sow in spring, usually February to April, or as late as July if you will keep up with pest control. A fall planting only makes sense if at least 120 days remain before the expected first frost. Sow seed directly. The Seminole people grew the vines under trees that served as natural trellises.
Growing1
| Sun | 6 to 8 hours of direct sun |
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| Water | Water only in the early morning, which helps prevent gummy stem blight. |
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Tolerates summer heat and humidity and needs little care. Fruit forms only from pollinated female flowers (the ones with a round swelling at the base); flowers nearby draw pollinators, and hand pollination also works. Fruit varies in shape and color, partly because it crosses with butternut squash and other members of its species. Fruit hanging from a trellis tends to be teardrop-shaped. The vine keeps producing until the first frost.
Pests and diseases in Florida1
- Gummy stem blight: Shows up occasionally. Keep mulch pulled back from the base of the vine and water only in the early morning.
- Caterpillars: Watch the newest leaves as the weather warms; hand-pick or use a biological product such as Bt.
Harvest1, 2
Pick when the skin ripens to a sandy orange; mature fruits usually weigh 6 to 12 pounds. Young green fruit can also be eaten without peeling, and the flowers are edible. The thick skin lets whole pumpkins keep a couple of months even in Florida's humidity, and up to a year somewhere dry and well ventilated.
In an aquaponics system4
suited with care
Neither source names Seminole pumpkin. FAO's cucumber entry says squash, zucchini and melons suit media beds because of their large roots and need a lot of nitrogen and potassium (p. 173); this rating rests on that cucurbit-group statement. FAO gives no guidance on vines of this length.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
- Seminole pumpkin is a single variety, so no variety list applies. SP 103 lists it among 'tropical pumpkins' that resist disease but has no separate planting-table row for it.
- Days to harvest conflict between two Gardening Solutions pages: three to four months versus 120 to 150 days.
- No seed depth, soil pH or fertilizer guidance specific to Seminole pumpkin was found.
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.