Booberry, sorry I didn't reply any sooner. I've been busy and haven't been hanging out that much. I believe that is supposed to be the normal size. My guess is that they keep for a good number of months. But I've never grown them myself.

It's a c. maxima, and I stay away from c. maximas, as a rule, because they tend to be more susceptible to squash vine borers (which we have real bad here). But if a c. maxima will produce for you, it will probably be of excellent quality.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Thanks George! If all goes well, I'll be making lots of pies and pumpkin bread in the fall.

The Amish in my locale use both the Long Island Cheese and Neck Pumpkins for their pies. Both CAN get quite large.

You can freeze the pumpkin pulp, I cooked it then froze it. I cook mine in the oven, versus boiling it.