What's Growing
Explore a curated collection of heirloom crops and foraged foods grown within the Indigenous Community Garden at Virginia Tech. This page offers detailed descriptions of each plant, highlighting their historical and cultural significance, cultural relevance, and unique growing requirements. Alongside each plant, you'll find valuable growing tips to help cultivate these species, as well as interactive 3D models that offer an immersive view of the plants. Discover the rich heritage and sustainable practices behind these foods, and learn how they contribute to the garden’s mission of preserving and celebrating Indigenous food traditions.
nawí (Plants)
Baby Pam Pumpkin
Description:
Known as “ Small Sugar Pie Pumpkin”. A delicious, dry, stringless pumpkin typically ranges in diameter from 17 to 20 inches and weighs 4 to 5 pounds. Baby Pam is one of the greatest pumpkins for creating pies because its dry, starchy flesh blends well with sugar and water. These pumpkins are fantastic for painting and carving because of their beautiful aspect. When kept in a cold, dry environment, they will last for a few months. These pumpkins are sold as a standard pumpkin at farmers markets, grocery stores, and seed catalogs. These pumpkins were one of a variety of volunteers growing in the Indigenous Community Garden.
Native To Region:
This pumpkin heirloom has been a staple going back to the early 1600s for the New England and Maine region of the United States.
Indigenous Tribes/People that Cultivated The Plant:
The Wabanaki Confederacy which consists of Algonquian-speaking communities (Passamaquoddy, Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot) grew these pumpkins as a staple crop. As stated by Abenaki Scholar and Paleoethnobotanist Fred Wiseman and Anna Roy-Wiseman, “Fall harvest festivals were hosted by those of the Wabanaki, and the "Three Sisters" were frequently served during the festivities. The planting of this well-known companion planting of corn, beans, and squash as well as the significance of their cultivation has been well chronicled.”
Select the part of your garden that receives the most sun. Working with organic soil that has a pH range of 5.5 to 6.5. In hills or mounds outdoors, scatter 5 to 7 seeds. Early spring to mid-summer, three weeks after the last frost, and when the soil has warmed to at least 70 F are the best times to plant. Plants can grow up to 2 feet tall, and vines can extend 10 feet.
Citations
Crookneck Squash
Sowing and Planting
Select the part of your garden that receives the most sun. Working with organic soil that has a pH range of 5.5 to 6.5. In hills or mounds outdoors, scatter 5 to 7 seeds. Early spring to mid-summer, three weeks after the last frost, and when the soil has warmed to at least 70 F are the best times to plant. Plants can grow up to 2 feet tall, and vines can extend 10 feet.