Pumpkins

1.    Facts

·        A Pumpkin is an orange and round fruit that typically has a thick, orange or yellow shell. It can grow in gardens, as well as in a pumpkin patch. Besides, there are six stages of a pumpkin during its life cycle: seed, sprout, vine, flower, green pumpkin and orange pumpkin. First, pumpkin seeds grow inside of a hallowed out portion of a pumpkin, these seeds are little, flat and white. At the moment of planting them, they need sunlight and a lot of water.  After planting those seeds, a pair of green leaves start growing on the ground, this step is called sprout. As it is said, next step is Vine; where the little green leaves become in a big plan, that is the reason why pumpkins need a lot of space to grow. Meanwhile, yellow and edible flowers appear on the pumpkin plant; after some days they start turning into green pumpkins, this color means that the fruit is not ready to be picked yet. And finally the last step is orange pumpkins, where the color means that it is ready for you to pick it up. Now you can decide whatever you want to do with your pumpkins, if you want to cook them, participate with them in contests or just use them for decoration at home.

2.    Opinion:

·       We though pumpkins were vegetables, but know we know the truth, they are fruits. In our opinion they have a very strange flavor; actually they have bad taste, but it is just our perception. However, families around the world use pumpkins for cooking all kind of recipes, from sweet pies and salads to soups and juices. Besides from kitchen, pumpkins are also used for decoration, especially in Halloween. In countries like USA and Canada, people carve the pumpkins as a tradition, they garnish the indoors and outdoors of their houses, as well as schools and other public places. They are also used as customs for children, adults, and even for pets. On the other hand, pumpkins also are involved in contests, where the biggest pumpkin is the winner, it is amazing how bigger can be this fruit; sometimes they are as big as a car. Although we do not like to eat pumpkins, we cannot ignore the value and importance they actually have.

By: Juliana Ortiz Gaitán & María Paula Rojas Hernández