By The Green Parent
22nd October 2018
The pumpkin is the squash plants shining star during the month of October. Historically Pumpkins have been around for a very long time and they are often associated with Thanksgiving and the traditional pumpkin pie and spooky fun carvings at Halloween.
There are in fact many types of pumpkins, from the tiny small sweet pumpkin to the very large carving pumpkins to the Giant pumpkins that are grown for competitions. In fact, the largest pumpkin in the world was a whopping size weighing in at 2, 624 pounds and was grown by a Belgian man Mathias Willemijns in 2017.
It turns out that the humble pumpkin is a variety of the squash plant in the Curcubita family. They are high in fibre, low in fat and a good source of Vitamins A and B.
Did you know that an estimated 10million pumpkins are grown in the UK every year and while some get made into food items a lot are just for the fun of carving them. Composting your carved pumpkins after carving would be a great way to recycle the leftover pumpkins.
How to Grow Your Very Own Pumpkins
- According the Royal Horticultural Society, Pumpkins are easy to grow and require a sunny patch with plenty of water, they are best grown from seed indoors and then planted outside in May.
- Leave the pumpkin on the plant for as long as possible to ripen. When the stem cracks and the skin is tough, the pumpkin is ready to be harvested.
They can be made into tasty soups and its oh so easy to roast the seeds that you can sprinkle on your cereal or on desserts..
Books about pumpkins include: Charlie Brown- The Great Pumpkin https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Pumpkin-Charlie-Brown-Peanuts/dp/0762433027
Sources:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/pumpkin
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/pumpkin-facts
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/21/pumpkin-crisis-halloween-farmers-warn-uk
