Oh my Gourd!
True or False: A pumpkin is a type of winter squash
True!
Pumpkins are often in the same category as acorn or butternut squash
Plants that are distinguished by their ability to survive year after year are called__________
Perennials
Deer tend to be very picky about what they eat. True or False
FALSE!
Keep or kill is about bugs you can keep in your house
NO! EW
What is a carved pumpkin often called?
A Jack-O-Lanterns
A pumpkin is a cousin to this vining snack that is good for pickling.
Cucumber.
Pumpkins and cucumbers are in the gourd family
Plants that complete their life cycle in a single season are called _______________
Annuals
Known for burying your bulbs and digging up freshly seeded rows, this bushy-tailed rodent loves to stash acorns and sample tomatoes
Squirrels
These slow-moving gastropods leave a silvery slime trail across your hostas and chew ragged holes in tender leaves
Slugs
Bonus: Keep or Kill?
his beloved, sugary autumn candy was originally manufactured in the late 1800s under the less-than-spooky name "Chicken Feed
Candy Corn
How late in the season can you plant pumpkin seeds?
Midsummer
You can plant as early as spring and as late as midsummer
Known for its distinct purple color, fragrant scent, and deep-roots, this woody herb is a classic garden perennial.
Lavender
This tiny underground tunneler leaves raised ridges and volcano-shaped dirt mounds all over your garden bed and eats the roots of your vegetables.
Voles
These tiny, soft-bodied insects cluster on the undersides of new growth, suck plant sap, and secrete a sticky substance called honeydew
Aphids
Keep or Kill?
Before pumpkins became the staple, people in 19th-century Ireland and Scotland originally carved these root vegetables to ward off evil spirit
Turnips
How can you tell if your pumpkin is ready to harvest? (list 3)
Appropriate color
Finger nail test
Stem dries up/gets woody
Gardeners frequently perform this task on overgrown perennials every three to five years to keep them healthy and prevent overcrowding
*Hint: we did this to the irises
dividing or splitting
Because white-tailed deer are incredible jumpers, a standard vertical garden fence needs to reach at least this minimum height in feet to be truly reliable
8 feet!
Praying Mantis
Keep or Kill
Halloween evolved from this ancient Celtic harvest festival, which marked the beginning of winter and the new year
Samhain
Pumpkins are classified as a __________ and not a vegetable
Marigolds, impatiens, and petunias belong to this group because they are killed off by the first hard frost
annuals
What characteristics would y=you look for in a flower to normally considered be a deer-proof? (I say normally because our deer have a very wide pallet)
No flower is completely deer-proof, but deer-resistant flowers feature strong fragrances, fuzzy or coarse textures, bitter tastes, or natural toxicity that deer tend to avoid
Often confused with stink bugs, these shield-shaped, grayish-brown pests emit a foul odor when crushed and love to suck the sap out of your pumpkins!
Squash Beetles
What is the old scottish term for dressing up to scare away evil spirits?
Guising