Yes, this is September. However, now is the time to get ready for Pumpkin Month. One way to do that is to check out “The Pumpkin Project”.
It is too late to grow pumpkins as frost kills the vines. Fall is when pumpkins arrive in the stores and get ripe in the garden.
Pumpkins Aren’t Just Decorations
Pumpkin displays start appearing at houses around town in late September. I like to keep track of these as most people putting these up throw the pumpkins away after Halloween. Unless the weather has been very cold, I like to take these pumpkins home.
At my house the smaller pie pumpkins become pumpkin puree for cookies or soups. Some are chunks in stews.
Bigger pumpkins are treats for my goats. I cut them into bite sized pieces and take them out each evening. A few pieces go on each plate of grain.
Different goats eat the pieces differently. Agate pushes hers around as she eats all the grain. Then she eats the pumpkin pieces. Drucilla and Spring attack the dish before it is even set down in front of them as they grab the pieces, then eat their grain.
“The Pumpkin Project”
This science activity book has lots of pumpkin puzzles and investigations in it. Many of them start with the seeds and growing pumpkin vines.
There are stories about pumpkin history and growing giant pumpkins by people in the U.S., Sweden and Australia who grew award winning giant pumpkins. These are weighed at special fairs called Weigh Offs.
For Pumpkin Month there are more things to do with pumpkins. Of course, you can carve a pumpkin, but then it’s not good for anything but display. Painting one lets you cook up the pumpkin later.
What Can You Cook Up?
There are recipes for making pumpkin puree. Then you can make not only cookies, but pumpkin bread, Caribbean pumpkin bread, cheesecake, soups, pie and more. You can even roast the seeds for snacking.
In honor of Pumpkin Month, you can get a free pdf of “The Pumpkin Project” by emailing me and asking. The book is only available in print or as a large pdf.