Pumpkins are the favorite fruit of October. From pumpkin spice to Jack-o’-lanterns, from pumpkin soup to pumpkin pie, pumpkins add magic to the season.
As I drive through the countryside rich in golden autumnal colors, I notice piles of pumpkins at roadside stands. There, people are wandering through the selection, seeking the perfect pumpkin for carving the scariest Jack-o’-lantern.
Did you know carving Jack-o’-lanterns started in Ireland? They carved scary faces into turnips or potatoes, and put them in their windows to keep spooky creatures away on Halloween. When the Irish came to North America, they found carving pumpkins much easier than carving turnips, and now pumpkin carving is a common tradition for many of us!
Growing Pumpkins
I was blessed this year with an abundance of pumpkins from my own garden, and I’m so glad. There are so many delicious recipes I like to make with pumpkin purée.
Pumpkins are so fun to grow. I plant the seeds in late May or early June as it takes 90-120 days to grow these tremendous orange gourds.
It doesn’t take long to see plants popping out from the mounds of soil that I’ve spaced 4-6 feet apart. The pumpkins need a lot of room to grow!
From there, the vines grow and produce flowers, male and female. The female flowers have a tiny, green pumpkin behind the flower and must be pollinated by the pollen in a male flower. Bees are good at doing this, but a Q-tip works as well.
Once pollinated, the pumpkin needs water and sunshine.
Eventually, the vines die off, but believe it or not, the pumpkins keep growing and ripening.
Pumpkins are full of nutrients; rich in antioxidants and vitamins. You can make the pumpkin into a Pumpkin Curry Soup or serve it as a vegetable, baked in chunks and seasoned with salt and pepper. And, of course, you can make delicious desserts such as Traditional Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Bread.
In fact, every part of the pumpkin is edible! The skin, leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds, and stem! Try Roasted Pumpkin Seeds for a delicious and healthy snack.
Originally called “pompions”, the word “pumpkin” made its debut in the 17th century in the fairy tale, Cinderalla.
“Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!
When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune,
Our chair a broad pumpkin, – our lantern the moon,
Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam,
In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!”
~Excerpt from “The Pumpkin” by John Greenleaf Whittier
Happy Halloween!
Lovely. Can you give us a recipe or two and some tips for getting the pumpkin into useable purée?
Stay tuned! They are on the way. Meanwhile, my pumpkin bread is exceptional! I made some today.