Fun Fact on Pumpkins

Knucklehead

Pumpkins are indigenous to the western hemisphere and have been grown in North America for five thousand years.

Peanut

There are more than 45 different varieties of pumpkins. They range from shades of red to orange, yellow, white and green and have names like Peanut, Knucklehead and Porcelain Doll.

Plant pumpkin seeds between the last week of May and mid-June. They take between 90 and 120 days to grow.

Cinderella

The original jack-o’-lanterns were made with turnips and potatoes by the Irish. Irish immigrants brought their customs to North America, but found that pumpkins were much easier to carve.

Flat White Boer

Pumpkins are rich in beta carotene. One cup provides a day’s requirement for Vitamin A, plus Vitamin C and potassium. One cup of canned pumpkin only has 83 calories and half a gram of fat.

Kakai

Although often thought of as a vegetable, pumpkins are fruits because they contain seeds. Pumpkins are members of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which also includes squash, cucumbers, gherkins and melons.

Jarrahdale

Every single part of a pumpkin is edible. You can eat the skin, leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds and even the stem!

Autumn Buckskin

Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds.

Porcelain Doll

Musquee de Provence

Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops, removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.