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Hey there! It’s fall, and you know what that means?
It’s almost Jack O’ Lantern time!
Squeaks wants to carve a really big pumpkin this year.
So he and I were looking at some photos of pumpkins to see how big they can get.
You’re right, Squeaks, they certainly are giant!
These pumpkins are much bigger than the ones
we see at farmer’s markets around the Fort.
Ah! Squeaks wants to know why pumpkins can get so big.
We’ve seen some big apples and other large fruit at the market …
but nothing ever as big as these prize-winning pumpkins!
I mean, check this one out. And they get even bigger!
The biggest pumpkin in the world was grown in 2021,
and weighed in at a whopping 1,226 kilograms.
That’s about as much as a small car! It can get that big because pumpkins grow
in a way that’s a little different from other kinds of plants.
Plants are living things. And all living things are made of tiny parts called cells.
Living things mostly grow and get bigger by making more cells.
So, a pumpkin that just grew, and is small,
has fewer cells than a large pumpkin that’s been growing for a while.
Right! It’s like building with Lego blocks.
It doesn’t take as many blocks to build a small building as it does to build a big one.
Bigger buildings have more blocks…bigger pumpkins have more cells.
Now, pumpkins also get bigger because each cell gets bigger.
Each tiny part grows larger in size.
Pumpkins spend more time doing both kinds of growing than other kinds of plants.
So they end up with more cells… and bigger cells.
That means pumpkins can grow bigger than other garden plants like cucumbers.
Sure, Squeaks, you can try to grow a huge pumpkin!
But there are some things you need to know
before you get started that might help out. First, giant pumpkins don’t just pop up overnight.
It can take months for pumpkins to get as big as the prize-winners.
People who grow these big pumpkins need to have
a lot of patience and a lot of water!
That’s because cells… and the pumpkins made of cells… are mostly water.
Some of the giant pumpkins we’ve seen need more than
600 liters of water every day. That’s enough to fill two bath tubs.
You’re right, Squeaks! Water is one thing that plants need to grow.
Plants have a special part inside them called xylem.
It has a tube-like structure and looks a bit like a waterslide.
Its job, or function, is to carry water to different parts of the plant.
And they have another part called phloem. Its job is to carry sugar.
Scientists have found that the very biggest pumpkins grow on pumpkin plants
that have more xylem and phloem than other pumpkin plants.
This means lots of water and sugar can move quickly through the plant
and into the growing pumpkin to help it get big.
So if we wanted to grow a really big pumpkin, we should definitely start with
a seed that came from a really big pumpkin
since a young plant tends to grow to about the same size as its parent plant.
Let’s see, besides starting with a special seed…we would need to plant the seed
in good soil…and give it plenty of light.
When pumpkins start to form along vines, we need to pick just one to grow…
and take off all of the other pumpkins. So only one gets all the water and sugar?
Right, so only one pumpkin gets all of the water and sugar.
Oh, and in addition to making sure the pumpkin has plenty of water,
pumpkin growers also give them fertilizer that has nutrients
to help the plant grow and stay healthy.
It’s a lot of work…but just look at the results!
You’re right, a pumpkin that big would make a lot of pumpkin pies.
But the kinds of pumpkins that grow this big aren’t very tasty.
They would make an okay Jack O’Lantern,
if you don’t mind having one that has a flat side.
The pumpkins grow so fast, and get so heavy,
the side on the ground tends to get a little squashed-looking.
Which, if you think about it, isn’t so bad for Halloween.
I’m ready to start drawing some faces for my Jack O’ Lantern.
What do you say, Squeaks?
If you want to have fun with me, Squeaks, and all of our friends,
you can subscribe to SciShow Kids, and we’ll see you next time here at the Fort!
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