Classification And Early Season Protection

A cotyledon is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant. Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling. The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the flowering plants. Species with one cotyledon are called monocotyledonous (or, “monocots”) and placed in the class Liliopsida. Plants with two embryonic leaves are termed dicotyledonous (“dicots”) and placed in the class Magnoliopsida.

Pumpkins are dicotyledonous members of the Plantae kingdom. They are vascular plants which puts them in the Tracheobionta subkingdom. The fact that they are seed plants puts them in the Spermatophyta superdivision and their flowers place them in the Magnoliophyta division. The pumpkin is part of the cucumber family and ultimately falls in the gourd genus! There are dozens of pumpkin varieties and this year I’ll be trying to grow about 4 or 5 different kinds!

Why The Greenhouse?

“Frosts kill plants when the internal temperature of the plant is cold enough to breakdown plant cells thereby causing the plant to wilt and die.” – Ron Wolford, University of Illinois horticulturist

I’ve already lost three plants because of an unexpected “potential frost”. I don’t think it was the actual frost that killed the plants, but rather the magnifying properties of the mason jars that I used to cover the plants. I remember the heat I felt when simply holding the jar in my hand with the sun shining on it. 80% of the plants were fine and luckily it’s early enough in the season and I’ll be able to start some new seedlings and put them in with plenty of time for the pumpkins to form and mature!

On the other side of the road, I just finished helping Greg set up two greenhouses. It’s obvious now that a greenhouse can really help protect plants during the early growing season. Not only does the greenhouse protect the pumpkin plant from high winds, but it will also protect the plant from the risk of frost. The greenhouse itself should keep the plants warm enough to get through freezing temperatures, but you can always add a tarp or blankets for extra protection. Remember, the greenhouse is used to protect the Atlantic variety. The leaves on these giants are more prone to become airborne in high winds which may result in the stem snapping. Regular varieties of pumpkins are less likely to be effected by wind, but are equally susceptible to frost. Based on my research, it seems that materials that breathe are the key to protecting plants during a potential frost. Plastic and glass may not be the best choice when covering plants. Blankets, sheets and burlap sacks are ideal, or even a cardboard box with the bottom cut out.