Fall is Pumpkin Season!

Of course you can cook the seeds from your carved pumpkins and enjoy them with your favorite seasonings, but you can also keep a few seeds to plant your own pumpkins next year!  Last year I got some lovely pumpkins from the local market and thought I would try saving seeds to plant this year.  This year's purchased pumpkin can be next year's pumpkin from your own garden!

Last year's carved pumpkin that supplied the seeds for this year's pumpkin plant!

 

My jack-o-lantern all lit up!

Pick a fun pumpkin from your local market and be sure to write down what kind it is on a plastic baggie.  After carving your pumpkin, collect the seeds and rinse them well.  Be sure to clean off all the pumpkin goo!  Next, spread them out on a towel and allow them to dry for a few days.  Once they are dry, you can put them into your labeled baggie and hang on to them through the winter.  I pinned mine to my basement bulletin board as they keep best in a cool, dark location.

Next summer, around the end of July, pull a few seeds out and plant them in your garden.  Give them lots of room - the pumpkin vines take over!  Water and care for the pumpkin vines as you would your other vegetables.  After they take hold, you should start to see tiny pumpkins forming on the vine!  I learned a lesson the hard way - don't touch the baby pumpkins!  One of mine fell off when I moved the vine to get a better look. 

Tiny baby pumpkin

The pumpkin I planted was a s-l-o-w grower.  Multiple baby pumpkins formed on the vine, but in the end, I just had 1 major pumpkin survive to continue growing.  Once fall takes hold and you want to use your pumpkin for carving or decoration, snip it from the vine and enjoy!  Happy Fall!

Almost ready for picking and carving