Growing a Pumpkin in a Pumpkin; fun idea right? This is another one of those projects I found on Pinterest that had nothing but a picture. *sigh* I wasn't sure it would work, or if there would be some sort of secret I needed to know. And I really wanted to try it with big pumpkins, but mine rotted before we could. Besides I have no idea what we would have done with them through the winter!
Luckily we still had some little pumpkins that hadn't rotted!
Start by cutting the top off. I am terrible at this apparently, so it is a really good thing the top didn't have to go back on! The girls were amazed by the seeds, and I was happy it wasn't too gooey after sitting so long.
I had each girl put some dirt in a pumpkin. I used a seed starter to be on the safe side, but pumpkins are supposed to be super easy to grow, so maybe it doesn't matter.
Of course we watered the pumpkins then and waited.
About a week later something is starting to show!
Within 3 days one of the pumpkins is exploding with sprouts! The other was just a little behind with two up and more pushing.
We decided we better plant them! You could see on the bottom all the roots coming through the pumpkin. This little pumpkin even had a shoot trying to come out the side!
The whole pumpkin gets planted and the girls water them (more then) thoroughly.
Now we hope the weather stays warm enough not to kill our pumpkins! Although if they are really as easy as everyone says they should come up anyhow!
What I really like about this little experiment is how it demonstrates the circle of life. The new growth comes from the old and is nourished by the old. Really shows how nature works to maintain plants. Even seeds that fly away from their host are nourished by decomposing leaves and such in the soil. This just happens to be in one compact little pumpkin!
