Pumpkin
Squash ‘Rouge vif d’Étampes’
Squash ‘Rouge vif d’Étampes’: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
‘Rouge vif d’Étampes’ is an old pumpkin variety of Cucurbita maxima, in the cucurbit family. Its distinctive fruits are large, red-orange, flattened and strongly ribbed. Their broad outline, with deep grooves and raised ribs, resembles the traditional pumpkins seen on autumn market stalls. The bright colour belongs to the rind and does not mean the flesh is red. Its size and shape set it apart from small portion-sized squash and elongated varieties.The plant is an annual herb with a trailing habit. Its stems can extend over several metres, bearing tendrils and large, more or less lobed leaves. The foliage therefore occupies considerably more space than the point where the plant begins. A low-growing outline does not mean a small footprint. The stems and leaves have the rough texture typical of many squash plants and form a broad expanse of summer greenery.Male and female yellow flowers are separate but occur on…
