Crop type: Pumpkins
Cucurbita pepo ‘Cargo’
Common name: Pumpkin ‘Cargo’
Crop slug: pumpkins
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Cargo’ is an unresolved Cucurbita pepo cultivar grown as a vigorous scrambling annual. Its green leaves and yellow flowers are followed by large orange pumpkins with orange flesh. The crop guide describes medium-sized, deep-orange fruits of about 6–10kg and stems capable of reaching 4m.
The cultivar's key practical strength is keeping quality. Fully matured, carefully cured pumpkins can store for many months and well into winter, making ‘Cargo’ a useful choice for a sustained kitchen supply. Its flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects during the growing season.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Ultimate spread
- 2.5–4 metres
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Typical fruit weight
- about 6–10kg
- Habit
- spreading, branched and trailing
Reserve generous ground for vines that may travel 4m. Flexible young stems can be guided around a large circle or along the edge of a plot, but should not be bent sharply. Space and full leaf exposure help the plant ripen its medium-large keeping pumpkins before autumn cold.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Chalk, clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
‘Cargo’ accepts a broad range of soil textures and pH, but requires rich, fertile, freely drained ground for its long vines and substantial fruits. Dig a deep planting pocket enriched with garden compost or well-rotted manure. Water consistently at root level and mulch after the soil warms, leaving the main stem clear.
Apply an organic high-potassium liquid feed once fruits start swelling, particularly in lighter ground. Support each pumpkin on a tile or board before it becomes heavy so the underside stays dry and its skin remains sound enough for long storage.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- East-, north-, south- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H1c
This tender annual grows outdoors in summer warmth but does not tolerate frost. Sow under cover and plant outside only after local frost risk has passed. Choose a sheltered, sunny position regardless of compass aspect; a long warm season is essential for the skin to harden fully before storage.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Broad green, palmately lobed foliage covers the long trailing stems, with golden-yellow flowers in summer and autumn. Mature fruits are substantial but not giant: broadly rounded to slightly tall, with deep-orange, naturally ribbed skin, orange flesh and a strong stalk. The cultivar plate should distinguish ‘Cargo’ through its saturated deep-orange colour, sound hard storage skin and medium 6–10kg proportions rather than extreme size.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Spreading, branched and trailing
- Name status
- Unresolved
Genus
Cucurbita is a small genus of climbing or trailing annual plants native to Central and South America. Cultivated species bear large prickly palmately lobed leaves, separate golden-yellow flowers and fleshy fruits grown for food and other purposes.
Safety
Never eat or give pets any pumpkin that tastes unusually bitter. Bitterness can indicate harmful cucurbitacins. Discard the fruit and affected plant, and protect hands from rough stems and foliage when necessary.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow indoors in mid- to late April, setting one seed on its side 1cm deep in an individual pot at 18–21°C. Move germinated seedlings into bright light, harden off gradually and plant into rich, well-drained soil in full sun after the final frost. Allow approximately 1.5m between trailing plants and room for vines to extend farther.
Water deeply, especially during fruit swelling, and keep the root zone evenly moist beneath a generous mulch. Feed regularly with a high-potassium fertiliser as fruits develop. Train the 4m stems only while flexible and leave healthy foliage to ripen the crop.
Harvest before frost when the deep-orange skin resists a thumbnail. Cut with at least 10cm of stalk attached and cure in a dry sunny place for seven to ten days. Store only unblemished fruit in a well-ventilated space at about 10–15°C, keeping pumpkins apart and checking them regularly.
Propagation
Propagate by seed and retain one vigorous plant at each final position.
Suggested locations
- Large allotment or vegetable plot
- Long sunny bed edge
- Productive wildlife garden
- Raised bed with room for vines to trail outside it
Pruning
No routine pruning is required. Remove damaged foliage and late unwanted fruits where necessary, but preserve enough healthy leaves to mature the keeping crop.
Pests
May be susceptible to slugs and snails. Protect young plants and keep mature fruits raised away from damp soil.
Diseases
May be susceptible to grey mould and powdery mildew. Maintain even soil moisture, avoid wetting leaves, allow good air circulation and remove decaying plant material.