VegetablePumpkin
Dickinson Pumpkin
Processing Pumpkin
The Dickinson pumpkin is the gold standard for pumpkin pie, the very variety that transformed Libby's canned pumpkin into an American kitchen staple. These nearly round to slightly elongated fruits grow to about 18 inches long with a 14-inch diameter, weighing up to 40 pounds, dressed in a smooth buff-colored rind with subtle furrows. With 110 to 119 days to maturity, you'll have a generous harvest from summer plantings that thrives across hardiness zones 3 through 13. The flesh inside is a vivid sweet orange that bakers and home canners have trusted for generations, this is the pumpkin purpose-built for transforming into silky purees and bakery favorites.
Photo © True Leaf Market(https://www.trueleafmarket.com/products/dickinson-pumpkin)
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-13
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam, Rich Organic Matter
Preferred Temp70-85°F
Growth Stats
24 in
Height
PeriodAnnual
TypeVine
Spacing
6-8 feet apart
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
3-13
Size
24in H x ?in W
Growth
Annual
Care
High
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
What makes Dickinson special isn't just its size or productivity, but its reputation as the premium canning pumpkin. The flesh quality is exceptional, consistently sweet, finely textured, and yielding abundant puree without the watery disappointment of ornamental varieties. Gardeners who've tried it report that a single mature fruit provides enough homemade pumpkin for weeks of pies, soups, and bread. Its smooth buff skin and manageable size (far more practical than those massive jack-o'-lantern types) make it equally at home in the kitchen or gracing a porch as a refined autumn decoration.
Common Uses
Dickinson pumpkin is purpose-built for the kitchen. Its dense, sweet orange flesh excels at transformation into silky purees for pies, soups, and breads, this is the variety that delivers that restaurant-quality pumpkin flavor home cooks crave. The flesh also cans beautifully without excessive liquid loss, making it the logical choice for anyone planning to preserve their harvest. While ornamental varieties fade fast once cut, Dickinson's fine texture and depth of flavor reward longer cooking and concentrated use.
Growing Timeline
First Bloom
Early Summer
First Harvest
Mid-fall
Last Harvest
Late Fall
Care Instructions
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Soil pH Range
6 – 7
Scientific Classification
Cucurbita mixta Pang.
Family
Cucurbitaceae
Genus
Cucurbita