The fruits of homegrown “Musquee de Provence” winter squash variety can have a shelf life of more than four months when stored whole, uncut and undamaged
The Musquee de Provence pumpkin ( also known as the fairytale pumpkin or muscat pumpkin ) was one of the four winter squash varieties we grow last season . I start it from ejaculate , and once the risk of frost had passed , I transplanted the plants to the allotment – in a thick bed of compost …
The season bring plenty of rainfall , and even two hailstorm , with one being in particular damaging . The plants handled the pelting well and they even recovered from the hailstorms , but they did start to deteriorate before than in old seasons . I infer all that excessive rainwater and the resulting moisture were too much for them in the end after all .
Despite the challenging weather condition , we bask a bountiful harvest – and the Musquee de Provence autumn pumpkin stood out as the most productive diverseness . It produced the tumid and heaviest fruits . The majority of them weighed about five kilograms ( 11 punt ) each which is a circumstances of vegetable for a kinsperson of three . It take us nearly a week of daily meals ( soups , sauces and whatnot ) to wind up eating just one pumpkin !
I picked these three Musquee de Provence pumpkins towards the end of September in 2023. It was January 27th, 2023, when I took this photo, and as you can see, they were still in good, edible condition despite being stored for several months!
Store them in a dry and well-ventilated place with a constant room temperature
By the remnant of September , when the fruits of Musquee de Provence variety slowly started to reach adulthood , we had already been enjoying squash on a weekly basis – thanks to the earlier production from theRed Kuri variety . As much as we love this type of vegetable , we got timeworn of use up it every week and just could n’t bear on to do it so ofttimes . So , we shared some with friend and home and put in the rest …
There was nothing special about the room we lay in the fruit . We simply kept them whole and uncut in a dry and well - ventilate room where the temperature remain fairly invariant at around 20 degrees Celsius ( 68 degrees Fahrenheit ) . Now , before I shelved them , I did leave behind them outside in the opened ( but protect from the rainwater ) for about a week . I did it because it was a very rainy growing season and I was afraid that they might start rotting much before if I do n’t dry them out a bit more before put in them .
It has now been more than four months since then and we still have three of those squash leftover . They are still in good , eatable condition and are wait for us to practice them . We ate the others throughout fall and winter , and I can aboveboard say that their sweet smell and predilection get more marked over fourth dimension !
The last growing season was exceptionally rainy. The constant rain innitially helped the plants get established, but it eventually took a toll on them. After enduring damp growing conditions for months, the plants started to rot and deteriorate. Since I didn’t want the fruits to go to waste too, I decided to pick them, even though they were still partly unripe. Photo taken on 17th of September in 2023.
What ’s also interesting to observe is that we stored a few fruits that were n’t fully suppurate when peck . Those then slowly mature on the shelves . Their colour gradually turn from disconsolate green to orange and cinnamon brown .
Check them weekly for signs of rotting
A Son of caution , though . If you plan to store this pumpkin variety ( or any other winter squash variety ) for a longer menstruum of time , I strongly recommend tick off each one good at least once a week . That spare drying tactic may have worked on some of the store fruits , but it by all odds did n’t solve on all of them …
You see , one of the fruits we hive away began to show signs of rot about a calendar month or two later . It look ok on the outside when I first stored it , but I guess that the moist growing status and the hailstorm scathe were just too much for it . fortunately , we noticed it early enough to save it . We just cut off the bad parts ( I threw those on the compost cumulus together with the skin ) and ate the in force parts .
So , hailstorm damage , or any other mechanically skillful damage , can greatly trim back the shelf living of squash . That seems to be especially dependable if the plant were turn in a damp conditions . If you do n’t notice it early enough , you may end up have to discard the full yield .
We kept our surplus fruits stored on shelving racks for over four months. When I first shelved them, they still had that dark green color which indicated they weren’t completely ripe. Considering this now, the fact that they weren’t fully ripe at the time might have actually helped them last longer!
They are an excellent way to preserve some of the homegrown produce for winter
During the grow season , we endeavor to freeze as much of our homegrown green goods as we can for colder calendar month . It is usually bush beans , sweet peas , swedish turnip and zuchinnis . But despite this , when wintertime get , we still have to buy the bulk of our vegetables in supermarkets or at the granger ’s market place . This winter , however , was a bit different …
Thanks to the Musquee de Provence pumpkins , we have n’t had to buy any squash vine yet ! I am impressed with how long this winter squash rackets variety can last after you clean it . They are thoroughgoing for preserving some of the homegrown veg for winter when reinvigorated vegetables from our own garden are scarce . We emphatically be after to grow this variety again in the futurity !
There is something magical about enjoying a homemade squash soup made from the homegrown Musquee de Provence pumpkin during winter. It is no wonder then that this squash variety is also called the Fairytale pumpkin. I have noticed that its flesh becomes even juicier, richer, and sweeter with time. However, it’s best not to store it for too long. It may start to rot faster than you think. Or it could get dry inside. Photo taken on 27th of January in 2024.
Our ‘Fairytale’ pumpkins were all visibly damaged by two hailstorms. You can clearly see the impact points on the fruits. Although the plants recovered and the fruits continued to grow, the scars remained. If for some reason, you find yourself with damaged fruits (as we did), I strongly recommend you keep a close eye on the damaged spots. They are often the first place where spoiling begins.
We usually cube our squash and then make soup or gravy out of it within a day or two. This year, however, due to the abundance of Musquee de Provence pumpkins, we have started freezing some of the cubes too. Our largest pumpkin weighed about 10 kilograms (22 pounds). Eating such large quantities in a short period can be challenging, so freezing has turned out to be a good solution. But I guess it is time to try some new recipes too!
