The names squash and pumpkin refer to plants from five cucurbita species originating in the Americas. The names have no botanical significance; they designate types of fruits and different culinary uses. Different varieties of pumpkins could belong to different species and still be correctly termed pumpkins. One cucurbita species could include different varieties of pumpkins, winter squash and summer squash. These closely related plants share many of the same traits and growing requirements.
Genetics
Squashes and pumpkins genetically match each other so closely that crosses occur between varieties and some cucurbita species. Plants from the C. moschata species, which include the most pumpkin varieties, cross with C. pepo or summer squash and with C. mixta or cushaw squash. Cucurbita maxima or winter squash closely resembles pumpkin but will not cross-pollinate with C. moschata. Problems arise when gardeners save seeds from two cross-pollinated varieties within the same species, such as the turban winter squash and the Atlantic giant pumpkin. Both belong to C. maxima, according to "Aggie Horticulture."
Storage Qualities
Both winter squashes and pumpkins grow large fruits with thick stems and tough rinds. The fruits of both types store well, although the storage lifetime varies widely with the variety. Pumpkins remain in good condition for three months; Hubbard squashes last over six months. Temperatures ranging from 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity levels between 50 percent and 70 percent provide a good storage environment for all types of pumpkins and squashes. Neither type stores well if the rind suffers bruising or cuts. Any minor wound provides an entry point for fungi while in storage.
Culinary Qualities
The culinary characteristics of the squash or pumpkin fruit determine which classification a variety receives. A fruit with a tough rind that also provides mature flesh with texture and flavor suitable for table use earns the name "winter squash." The fruits of summer squashes are tender and edible when immature, but they turn fibrous and inedible as they mature. Pumpkins yield fruit with an edible mature flesh. The flavor and texture make pumpkin less appealing as a table vegetable, but it's still usable as pie filling. Growers market many modern pumpkin varieties as decorations rather than edibles. Both squashes and pumpkins produce edible seeds, but some pumpkin varieties are grown specially for roasting seed. "Trick or Treat" produces large seeds without hulls, according to the Ohio State University Extension.
Cultivation
Growers treat pumpkins and squashes as virtually the same crop. If you plant either in your own garden, planting space depends on whether the squash or pumpkin grows as a bush type or a vine and the variety's mature spread. All types need warm soil for germination and do not tolerate frost damage as seedlings. For the earliest crop, plant summer squash. Summer squash fruit reaches harvest stage only days after it sets on the plant. Healthy summer squashes could continue producing for much of the summer. Pumpkins and winter squashes set fruit early in summer, but the fruit matures in late fall.
References
- University of Delaware; Squash, Pumpkin and Gourd; K.S. Delaplane, et al.
- Aggie Horticulture; Pumpkin; Sam Cotner, et al.
- Cornell University Vegetable MD Online; Fruit Rots of Squash and Pumpkins; Thomas A. Zitter; January 1979
- Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet; Growing Squash and Pumpkins in the Home Garden; Ted W. Gastier
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