Pumpkin Fun Facts!
- Native to Central America and Mexico, pumpkins now grow on all continents except Antarctica.
- Native Americans developed a method of planting corn, beans, and pumpkins together call “Three Sisters”.
- Native Americans used pumpkins as a staple in their diets centuries before the Pilgrims landed.
- Pumpkins grown to be used as jack-o-lanterns are much bigger and a darker color than processing pumpkins.
- Through pollination, pumpkins start by growing inside a flower and grow along a vine.
- Over time, a tiny green pumpkin grows much larger and changes in color from green to yellow to orange.
- Pumpkins are a fruit because they are the part of the plant that contains seeds.
- The flowers of a pumpkin are edible.
- Pumpkins are good for your body. The filling is rich in vitamin A and potassium. The seeds are full of protein and iron.
- Pumpkins are 90% water.
*From the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom 2018-19 Calendar for Teachers