Published: October 13, 2009 03:19 pm      

National Pumpkin Month

From the pumpkin patch to your porch and even to your plate, there are many ways to celebrate this versatile, healthy orange vegetable.

Did you know these unusual pumpkin facts?

— Antarctica is the only continent where pumpkins are not grown.

— Pumpkins have been cultivated for over 8,000 years.

— Pumpkins are part of the squash family.

— Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, zinc and magnesium.

— 3.5 oz. of pumpkin have only 10 calories and 41 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A.

— The tradition of carving pumpkins originally started with the carving of turnips in Ireland. When the Irish immigrated to the U.S., they found pumpkins a plenty and they were much easier to carve.

— Pumpkin flowers are edible.

— The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.

— Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.

The origin of pumpkin pie is thought to have occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and then filled it with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in the hot ashes of a dying fire.