Thanks for commenting and growing the zapallo.
I also have a few zapallo vines growing and some small fruit. It is the bottom of winter here, but the weather is between 78 to 90 F. As soon as the vines have all borne some fruit I will cut and plant 4 to 5 vines. If successful, they should grow loche by mid to late summer. All of this is experimental.
The zapallo seeds (called zapallo loche) will give you enormous vines, leaves and pumpkins, but not loche.
The pumpkins can grow into your fall. They could be enormous, so at this point just harvest one to see if it is ready. Take some cuttings from your zapallo vine and plant them. Since I am in a non-frost zone it is easy to do that, but if winter is coming to you the vines might not grow. Perhaps you could try putting them in a large pot indoors next to a sunny window. The pumpkin itself is wonderful for stews and it cooks quickly. The loche, purportedly, only grows from the vine cuttings. Good luck with both. Please let me know your results. Jan
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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A follow-up note: I was so curious to see what the green pumpkin/squash was like, I harvested it when it was about 8 1/2 to 9" tall. The interior was a deep, rich orange and it had seeds. Loche does not have seeds. I think harvesting it at about this size is a good idea. I cooked it in a stew (see recipe). It was sweet, creamy and rich tasting.
I cut the ends of the vines from one node through to another and planted them with a few leaves sticking out. I am watering them. We will see what happens.
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