There are a lot of pumpkins around at the moment
and their bright orange jackets make for a cheery display, so maybe now is the moment to think about planning a tunnel featuring a whole family of pumpkin and gourd related plants – they look gorgeous and you can eat them if you choose the right varieties. I’m not suggesting you aim for anything as grand as this
or this
or this beauty
but there is plenty of scope to aim for something more modest. First you have to know that there are what is known as Summer Squash and Winter Squash. What’s the difference? The easiest way to see it is anything with a thin skin that you have to eat quickly is a summer squash.
,
They include courgettes (which can either grow as bush varieties or vine-like climbers), pattypan, (sometimes known as flying saucer squash), crookneck, cousa, ronde de Nice and many others.
Winter squash and pumpkins have a hard and mature shell which means they can last for many months, over the whole winter if you’re lucky. The problem with all these beauties is that they are greedy for nutrients and take up a lot of space – something we urban gardeners don’t usually have much of. Hence the beauty of growing them vertically.
Here’s a simple version of a fancy tunnel. They’ve chosen a small variety of pumpkin which does not need support, anything bigger and you have to use netting or tights to give them a helping hand.
Have a look at the internet for inspiration but don’t bite off more than you can chew!
Happy planning.
Subscribe to our blog
