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Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:06 am
by Ginger2778
I am trying these for the first time. They are on the Slow Foods heritage list, supposed to be native to Florida. Anyone ever grow these? Do you have any feedback about taste, growth, size, or any comments.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:39 am
by MissS
I love how you always are trying new things Marsha. You have me curious about these too. They are said to be sweeter than butternut squash and keep for a year. Wow, resistant to Vine Borers. If this is all true then we all will be growing these Cucurbita soon. Please keep us up to date on how these do.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:42 am
by imp
I have seeds for these and want to start them this next year as the descriptions and reviews on it were really good and it is supposedly not too big. I like some of the big winter squashes, but they are just too much anymore. Be interesting to see how yours do before I get to plant mine.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:23 pm
by Ginger2778
MissS wrote: Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:39 am I love how you always are trying new things Marsha. You have me curious about these too. They are said to be sweeter than butternut squash and keep for a year. Wow, resistant to Vine Borers. If this is all true then we all will be growing these Cucurbita soon. Please keep us up to date on how these do.
Yes, and if they grow in South Florida they will grow anywhere! We have bugs the size of busses here. :?

Guess I better save seeds if we have success. :)

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:31 pm
by BettyC-5
I have grown these way up north and they did good. I have seeds from two sources and they grew slightly different shapes. Want to grow both again and pick the best one. Maybe even cross the two for seeds. It's been a few years but I remember they were good.
Imp--another small, good squash is Gold Nugget.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:45 pm
by Ginger2778
BettyC-5 wrote: Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:31 pm I have grown these way up north and they did good. I have seeds from two sources and they grew slightly different shapes. Want to grow both again and pick the best one. Maybe even cross the two for seeds. It's been a few years but I remember they were good.
Imp--another small, good squash is Gold Nugget.
Betty, what size were they?

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 2:32 pm
by Tormato
Good luck! I've heard vines can grow to 40+ feet in Florida. I've had seed for years, but still haven't got around to trialing it.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:46 pm
by Ginger2778
Uh oh! I have five vines about 4 feet apart. Looks like I'll be transplanting soon.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 6:46 pm
by Tormato
They can be trained to grow in the direction you want . About 1 - 2 feet from the tip, just put a stick or similar object in the ground to help it grow where you want it to grow.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 6:47 pm
by Ginger2778
Tormato wrote: Mon Dec 16, 2019 6:46 pm They can be trained to grow in the direction you want . About 1 - 2 feet from the tip, just put a stick or similar object in the ground to help it grow where you want it to grow.
Oh, good to know, many thanks.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:27 pm
by imp
Thanks BettyC-5, I've eaten thos and will need to get some seed for it. A good excuse, LOL, to be naughty.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:50 pm
by GoDawgs
I had to look back in my records and found I did grow it back in 2014. Good grief, it doesn't seem that long. Sigh. Anyway I planted two of them in half of a raised bed next to the asparagus bed and if memory serves, they made a few fruit about 6" wide, I think. And yes, they are a vigorous vine and they happily went scampering out of the bed to go play in the asparagus.

I don't think I was impressed with the flavor but I have since found that no winter squash that I grow taste worth a darned so 2019 was the last year of growing any. Perhaps it's the climate so I'd be interested to hear how yours taste since your climate is even hotter than mine!

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 6:58 pm
by PhilaGardener
I've heard they grow into trees in the Everglades and then the fruit hang down. Sounds like a great idea to me!

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:23 pm
by Ginger2778
GoDawgs wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:50 pm I had to look back in my records and found I did grow it back in 2014. Good grief, it doesn't seem that long. Sigh. Anyway I planted two of them in half of a raised bed next to the asparagus bed and if memory serves, they made a few fruit about 6" wide, I think. And yes, they are a vigorous vine and they happily went scampering out of the bed to go play in the asparagus.

I don't think I was impressed with the flavor but I have since found that no winter squash that I grow taste worth a darned so 2019 was the last year of growing any. Perhaps it's the climate so I'd be interested to hear how yours taste since your climate is even hotter than mine!
Learning from this. So they like hot weather? They are native to Florida, or at least so I have heard.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 7:08 pm
by BettyC-5
Mine weren't huge, maybe 5" X 6" and not real long vines, but I have a short growing season. I think I got a couple on each vine. I thought the taste was good.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2019 1:49 pm
by Tormato
GoDawgs wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:50 pm I had to look back in my records and found I did grow it back in 2014. Good grief, it doesn't seem that long. Sigh. Anyway I planted two of them in half of a raised bed next to the asparagus bed and if memory serves, they made a few fruit about 6" wide, I think. And yes, they are a vigorous vine and they happily went scampering out of the bed to go play in the asparagus.

I don't think I was impressed with the flavor but I have since found that no winter squash that I grow taste worth a darned so 2019 was the last year of growing any. Perhaps it's the climate so I'd be interested to hear how yours taste since your climate is even hotter than mine!


No winter squash are worth a darned? Even Maximas, like the standard Buttercup??

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2019 4:06 pm
by zendog
I was shopping on Southern Exposure Seed Exchange last night and was tempted to try one of the two Seminoles they offered. In the end I bought South Anna Butternut which is a Seminole Butternut cross. It will be interesting to see how the do compared to regular butternuts.

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:20 pm
by Ginger2778
zendog wrote: Thu Dec 26, 2019 4:06 pm I was shopping on Southern Exposure Seed Exchange last night and was tempted to try one of the two Seminoles they offered. In the end I bought South Anna Butternut which is a Seminole Butternut cross. It will be interesting to see how the do compared to regular butternuts.
A Seminole butternut cross? Now that's interesting! I hope you will post photos and your taste impressions. I'm really interested!

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:37 am
by Whwoz
zendog wrote: Thu Dec 26, 2019 4:06 pm I was shopping on Southern Exposure Seed Exchange last night and was tempted to try one of the two Seminoles they offered. In the end I bought South Anna Butternut which is a Seminole Butternut cross. It will be interesting to see how the do compared to regular butternuts.
very interesting indeed, must check out these seminoles and see if any are available down under

Re: Seminole pumpkins

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2020 12:08 pm
by GoDawgs
Tormato wrote: Thu Dec 26, 2019 1:49 pm
GoDawgs wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:50 pm I had to look back in my records and found I did grow it back in 2014. Good grief, it doesn't seem that long. Sigh. Anyway I planted two of them in half of a raised bed next to the asparagus bed and if memory serves, they made a few fruit about 6" wide, I think. And yes, they are a vigorous vine and they happily went scampering out of the bed to go play in the asparagus.

I don't think I was impressed with the flavor but I have since found that no winter squash that I grow taste worth a darned so 2019 was the last year of growing any. Perhaps it's the climate so I'd be interested to hear how yours taste since your climate is even hotter than mine!


No winter squash are worth a darned? Even Maximas, like the standard Buttercup??
Nope, not here. I LOVE winter squash! But IF they survive the SVB (and the maximas are the worst of the 3 main species for being an SVB magnet), they are pretty tasteless. Waaahhh!