Thank you so much for all your help and for welcoming the girls into your garden! Sending them on their way now. I hope this helps to explain the growing conditions and a little bit of the background. Wow. Thanks so much.
The Beginning of the White Jarrahdale, Her Maybe Probable Parents, and Her Sisters
Probable Parents
2021 - I planted seed from the original stock of Jarrahdale in my home garden. Plants yielded fruit and I saved seeds
2021- While camping in Eastern Tennessee we visited an Amish farmers market. After roasting the spaghetti squash I insisted we had to get more to take home. It was the absolute sweetest squash I had ever sampled. There was one left when we returned. Although the young man didn’t know the name of the specific variety he reassured me that they only grew open pollinated varieties. I was still pretty hung up on names at that point and hadn’t decided if I should save the seed.
22- I roasted and enjoyed the spaghetti squash in the beginning of the year. It was still as delicious after being stored at room temperature on the table for a couple months. That was when I committed to try and grow it out.
22- I scattered saved seeds from 2021 season of Jarrahdale on the North side of the property
22- I scattered saved seeds from the Spaghetti Squash on the South side
I mean…They aren’t supposed to readily cross right?
22 - It was this same year in the Fall that a white pumpkin appeared. It was around the typical Jarrahdale size, a little under ten pounds. Smelled wonderful but I wasn’t able to sample it because something else had been enjoying it! I kept the seeds because I was intrigued by the variance in color.
I feel it’s also noteworthy to share that I pulled my pumpkin and squash early that year due to permanent wilt. Flipping Cucumber Beetles. Everything was fine then… Well you garden friends know how that tale goes! Jarrahdale had grown to maturity and I was able to save seed from them. Besides the white I also saw variation leaning toward green and saved them as well. The Spaghetti Squash was flowering and fruiting but hadn’t quite reached maturity.
2023 -The Year of Extreme Drought
The Patch Overall
In June of last year I was pretty bummed. Just standing by and watching the soil crack was not doing it for me. I took a handful of the Blue, White, and Green Jarrahdale seed, mixed it with a handful of popcorn, and cast it into a shaded area. I then took a broom and swept them into the cracks. I was hoping they would be far enough down to find water. They did!
A ton of vines and blooms. They took over the entire yard and then some. No disease problems or damage from insects even though they were present in the area. Some wilted a couple times in the intense heat but I didn’t water and they didn’t show any permanent damage. They saw a lot of traffic. A groundhog, a skunk, and a possum were regulars. Alot got eaten and not all the pumpkins made it. The seed I’m sending in to share were from the absolute best.
Around the middle of October we had our first frost and I harvested all the fruit. Vines were still in stellar shape and producing blooms. There were around 20 mature pumpkins in total. They sat on my porch for awhile but I had to get them indoors. (Skunk on the porch? Enough said!) I ate a few. They were really good but one person can only eat so much pumpkin at once. I don’t have a ton of indoor space either so I gave all but the three pictured to my nephew and the neighbor kids to carve and enjoy. These three had been just sitting on the table in the light at room temperature since then. Fabulous storage potential even without ideal circumstances.
It wasn’t until a couple weeks ago when I processed the White one that I begin to really look at them and record the noticeable variations. I knew they were pretty phenomenal but I hadn’t really reflected on it or quite understood why until that point.
My personal notes on the seed stock from this current season that could be helpful -
Blue “true to type” Jarrahdale - Harvested 2023
9 pounds - flavor,shape, and size as “true to type” Blue Jarrahdale
Innards - Extremely orange and sweet. Sweet like a sweet potato but in a pumpkin way. More pumpkin scent than any other type of pumpkin I have ever smelled. Flesh not slimy and still firm.
I used this Blue Jarrahdale to turn sugar into a Pumpkin sugar. Pumpkin flavor and scent held up well and really shined through.
Lighter Green with Beige Mottling - Harvested 2023
9 pounds - same flavor,shape, and size as “true to type” Blue Jarrahdale with the variation expressed only in the outer skin.
Innards - Extremely orange and sweet. Sweet like a sweet potato but in a pumpkin way. More pumpkin scent than any other type of pumpkin I have ever smelled. Flesh not slimy and still firm.
I ate it roasted plain and made a couple whipped pumpkin pies from it.
White Jarrahdale - Harvested 2023
15.5 pounds - Same shape as traditional Jarrahdale. Way bigger. Skin is white with slight blue and beige streaks in a few places. Stem is more squared than others and slightly ribbed. Blossom end notably way smaller.
Innards - Extremely sweet but a bit more squash like. Orange in the middle with a slight yellowing towards outside. Kind of similar to a how the colors in a tie dye present. Flesh not slimy and still firm.
I ate this one roasted plain as well. It was super sweet and perfect as is. So good! I dehydrated the rest and am still enjoying it.
Why do I feel this could be a viable interspecies hybrid?
Color Variation of fruit
The stem on the white was noticeably more squared and ribbed
Definite smaller blossom end on the big white
Seeds are a bit bigger than the original and flatter. I also feel the margin is accentuated more with a possible slight color difference. Additionally the seed is flared at the edges especially in the seed from the big white one
This is the resource I turned to when attempting to decipher if there was genetic variation present
Although I did recognize the variation and place them in my garden I did not intentionally breed this beauty. I wouldn’t have valued them in the way they were intended without the help from you all. I am beyond grateful to Joseph for sharing his knowledge and all of you that make this community possible. Phenomenal to know they can possibly find homes with good folks who also see their potential. Maybe someday a family can grow them and feed the babies all winter long without worry. Or the chickens? Or themselves? So delicious and versatile. Pretty exciting.
A beautiful decorative pumpkin you can eat
Flavor is superb
Outrageously long storage potential
Vigorous growth habit thriving in both horizontal and vertical situations
Probable resistance to -
Drought
Powdery Mildew
Permanent Wilt
Wild Animals
Cucumber Beetles and Squash Bugs
That is an absolute complete history to the best of my knowledge of their beginnings. I hope I have “talked them up” in appropriate length and fashion. I feel they could be extremely valuable in the return towards self sufficiency for the home gardener. I hope they do indeed contain a combination of genetics that continue to shine through! Thanks in advance to all who can spare a little space and give her a chance to thrive. Thank you all for all you do!
