25 edible varieties of pumpkins from the garden

Autumn time is pumpkin time - and it's amazingly diverse. The pumpkins come in countless colors and shapes. To give you an overview, we present 25 edible pumpkin varieties from the garden.

bottle gourd

The bottle gourd (Lagenaria sicaria) is one of the oldest cultivated plants. In contrast to related gourds, the unripe fruits are the main source of food here. Around the world, ripe pumpkins of this type were and are used, among other things, to store food and to build musical instruments.

There are mainly two types of edible bottle gourds in our gardens:

• Hercules club: originally from Italy; climbing gourd; fruits up to 2 meters long; tasty pulp
• Wine lifter Kittenberger: Austrian variety; Shape reminiscent of wine lifter; only unripe fruits edible

Garden Squash

Garden pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo) are among the most commonly cultivated pumpkin species. In addition to "classics" such as the popular Halloween pumpkin "Jack O'Lantern" also count

zucchini to. The garden pumpkin was voted medicinal plant of the year in 2005. One more reason to grow this healthy, edible variety of pumpkin in the garden. Since the delicious fruits have a good shelf life and can be stored for a long time, you can enjoy them almost all year round. Here is a small selection:

• Baby Bear: mini pumpkin with tasty pulp; space-saving cultivation in pots on the balcony possible
• Bush delicate: old variety; bushy growth; long yellow-green striped fruits; excellent taste; Universal use in the kitchen
• Jack O' Lantern:classic carving pumpkin with a firm skin and flesh; typical orange peel; rather mild taste; suitable for mixed dishes and soups
• Patisson Blanc: showy white skin; flat shape reminiscent of UFO, hence "UFO pumpkin"; tastes like zucchini

• rondini: small fruits with dark green skin; reminiscent of round zucchini; very tender flesh
• Styrian oil pumpkin: comparatively young variety; Seeds do not lignify and can therefore be pressed into oil more efficiently; ripe fruits weigh up to 10 kilos
• Sweet Dumpling: originally from Mexico; also called "Patidou"; small pumpkin; weighs only up to 600 grams; yellow skin with green stripes; sweet taste of chestnuts
• Vegetable spaghetti: Italian variety; is one of the spaghetti squash; oblong-oval shape; pale orange color with light flesh

Musk Squash

Musk gourds (Cucurbita moschata) originally come from America. In the meantime, however, many of these pumpkin varieties have become indispensable in home gardens. They not only impress with their variety of colors and shapes, but also produce fruits of impressive weight. These varieties are particularly popular:

• butternut: pear or bell-shaped fruits with light, pale skin; sweet-aromatic, slightly nutty taste with notes of butter; versatile in the kitchen
• Longue de Nice: also "Long of Nice"; club-shaped; edible when immature (with green skin); ripe fruits beige; tasty pulp
• Muscat de Provence:nutmeg squash; light orange to brownish colored fruits with deep ribs; firm, strong orange flesh with a slightly sour taste; low in calories and core
• quintals: light ribbed, round fruits; orange peel not edible

• Rugosa Friulana: originally from Italy; particularly early variety; oblong fruits with uneven skin; slightly sweet and aromatic in taste
• Albenga trumpet: light green skin with yellow-brown flesh; intertwined shape also makes this variety interesting as a decorative object
• violin: Italian variety; oblong fruits with yellow-brown ribbed skin; aromatic pulp with a slightly nutty taste; can be preserved well

giant pumpkin

The group of giant pumpkins (Cucurbita maxima) produces the largest fruits in the vegetable kingdom. So bring specimens of the variety Atlantic Giants 500 kilograms and more on the scales. In addition, these giant fruits also score with their decorative value and a pronounced variety of tastes. These edible pumpkin varieties can also grow in your garden:

• Atlantic Giants: large, almost spherical fruits with a light orange skin; little dominant pumpkin taste; suitable for soups and desserts
• bishop's cap: also called "Turkish turban"; unusual shape with an orange substructure and a green and white striped "hat"; very tasty, aromatic pulp
• Blue Ballet: almost smooth, conspicuously blue-grey skin; very aromatic taste of chestnuts; however, not very profitable
• buttercup: very tender, bright orange flesh in a hard green skin; with nut flavor; can be used universally in the kitchen

• Yellow hundredweight: common cultivar; large yellow fruits; flesh rather watery; can be stored well and has a very long shelf life; popular for canning
• Golden Hubbard: teardrop-shaped fruits in red-orange, mostly warty skin; up to 6 kilograms in weight; thick yellow flesh with nut flavor; suitable for roasting and baking
• Red Hundredweight: large fruits; flat round with a reddish-orange skin; fine-fibrous red flesh with a slightly sweet taste; versatile
• Yellow pumpkin: light orange, almost yellow, smooth skin; up to 30 kilograms in weight; Flesh with a high water content, therefore particularly suitable for soups