. . . but they’re not! Central Illinois is experiencing its fourth consecutive day of 100-degree-plus temperatures. The human population of the area has long faces and short tempers, but many of our pumpkins, squash and gourds are thriving, as can be seen in these photos of a young Campeche squash plant in one of our isolation plots yesterday.

Native to southern Mexico, Campeche belongs to the species Cucurbita mixta, for which this kind of weather is ideal (although a little bit of rain would still be nice). While most visitors to The Great Pumpkin Patch enjoy Campeche for its excellent decorative qualities (see below), in Mexico, Campeche is grown for its very large and very nutritious seeds.

Since Campeche is generally unavailable from commercial seed companies, The Homestead Seeds is trying to build up a large seed stock forthe future. So far, so good at the isolation plot.

~ Kit Condill