Pumpkins are easy and fun to grow – just give them a warm sunny site, plenty of water and shelter from cold winds. By autumn, you’ll have colourful pumpkins to make into Halloween decorations or to store for use in winter – they’re delicious roasted or turned into hearty soups.
Pumpkins are a type of winter squash, traditionally with large, rounded, orange fruits. They are usually grown from seed sown indoors in spring, then planted out after the last frost, but can also be sown outdoors once the soil warms up.
Pumpkins like a warm, sunny site, with fertile soil and lots of rain or regular watering. They need a long, hot growing season, as the fruits are usually grown to maturity and must ripen fully in order to store well for use in winter. Most varieties form large sprawling plants that require plenty of space, although more compact bush varieties, usually with small fruits, are also available.
As well as being carved into Halloween lanterns, pumpkins can be used in a wide range of both savoury and sweet dishes, or can simply be roasted. You can also roast the seeds of some varieties, to eat as a healthy snack.