I think it's more to do with the average temps she has during her short growing season. Pumpkins need 150 days of hot or very warm temps.
Netty: the Swiss chard is very versatile, can be used in place of spinach in many recipes, especially in a quiche. When cutting, leave the very inner leaves: this will give you another crop from the plants. I have two varieties this year: the Rainbow mix and a type called "Sea Foam" that's very prolific! Both are growing in 24 inch window boxs that I've built a "fence" of insect barrier around (and across top) to keep the blasted leaf miners OUT, water right thru the barrier, have picked the chards three times now and they're ready for cutting again. Am really impressed with the "Sea Foam": leaves are 24 inches high and about 12 inches wide, flavor is excellant (are a white-stalked variety with brilliant green leaves), don't seem to be as "tough" as some other chards are. I start with a full pot (chard "melts down" to about 1/3 of what you start with) of washed, deveined and cut up leaves, add 8 cups of water and 3 beef bouillon cubes and let it cook for several minutes. To freeze, it's left to cool then packaged in plastic containers with enough liquid to cover, and this can be used in soups, stews or heated/seasoned and eaten as a side dish. For quiches, it must be fully drained and as much liquid squeezed out as possible or quiches will have a tendancy to be a bit soggy. Chard's a cool weather plant, should do well in your zone and is a great "health food"..enjoy as much as your other beautiful bounties of the harvest!
We're lucky if we get 15 days of 25 deg C/77 deg F or more, and we're way south of Biita. We get pumpkins in the shops now and then, but to be on the safe side we can order them.
