Howden
Cucurbita pepo
95 to 110 days — 'Howden' is a popular commercial and home-garden variety, widely used for Jack-o-Lanterns, but also excellent for pies and roasted seeds. The fruits weigh between ten to twenty pounds and are dark orange with deep ridges and strong handles. Plants are large, with vines that reach up to ten feet. Tolerant to black rot.
Developed by John Howden of Massachusetts, beginning in 1960, and released commercially by Joseph Harris Seed Company in 1977. Mr. Howden selected and stabilized this variety after discovering it in his crop of 'Connecticut Field' pumpkins, as an inadvertent cross of the prior variety and an unknown second variety. Each packet contains four grams, which is approximately 20 to 24 seeds.
