Pumpkin and Squash

Pumpkins and, in particular, squash are heat, sun and muck lovers and can struggle in a dull and damp UK summer. In a halfway decent year though, planted in a favourable position, they are a very rewarding crop. Given sunshine, plenty of manure and careful early weeding, by mid-summer they go rampant, climbing over bushes, fences, and even, given a leg up, trees. The big challenge in the UK is to get them ripe before the first frosts so they develop their full flavour and the hard skins that allow some varieties to keep for 6 months or more.