Yesterday my wife and I took the family to get Halloween pumpkins.  While walking through the field it occurred to me that some people may not know how pumpkins grow.

How Pumpkins Grow

Pumpkin plants are Monoecious, they have both male and female flowers on the same plant.

The female flower has a small ball beneath the flower.  When pollinated the small ball grows into a pumpkin.  Female flowers are shorter and closer to the stem than male flowers.

Male flowers grow on long stalks.  There are many more male flowers on a pumpkin vine than female flowers.

Pumpkin flowers open for one day.  If a female pumpkin flower doesn’t get pollinated that day no pumpkin will grow.

Sometimes a female flower that’s not pollinated will grow larger, perhaps to the size of a golf ball, and then stop and turn yellow.

Bees fly through the pumpkin patch collecting pollen and accidentally carry pollen from male to female flowers, thus pollinating the flowers and creating pumpkins.

Once pollinated, a pumpkin grows at an exponential rate.  The worlds largest pumpkin grew to over 2000 lbs.  The most popular seed for growing giant pumpkins is Dill’s Atlantic Giant.

Pumpkins start green and turn orange when they’re ripe.  There are many varieties of pumpkins depending what size and type of pumpkin you’re looking for.

While you’re walking through the pumpkin patch this Fall remember how much work it takes to grow a pumpkin, let alone select the perfect one.

Happy Halloween!