Growing & Canning Pumpkins on the Homestead

"A thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest."  William Blake ~

Growing your own pumpkin patch is fun and exciting with delicious returns that provide a ton of activities for the children.

Planting Pumpkins at Garden School: A Summer time activity

When the days are long and hot midsummer, the last thing you may be thinking about is the cool days of fall, but that is precisely when thoughts of pumpkins should begin. For a pumpkin patch to be well established by the time Mr. Jack-O-Lantern comes on the scene, the seeds must go into the ground around the 4th of July. While everyone else was running around blowing up things, we were putting our seeds into the ground. We planted our pumpkins inside one of our raised beds about an inch sow depth. 

My 2nd graders love helping in the garden. The pumpkins were a great crop for them to plant because the seeds are large enough for their little hands to control. 

Garden School Fall Harvest

Fast forward to fall ...

I now fully understand why EVERYTHING is pumpkin in the fall. We have pumpkins growing out our ears now. Our plans for them: puree several, carve two, and sell the rest out of the back of our car in town. 

Talk about the power of one seed!

I'm really excited about the homemade pumpkin puree. I have big cooking plans for them ... pumpkin rolls, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin smoothies. Whoooo who!

How to Make & Can Pumpkin Puree

Here is our Pumpkin puree processes.

Step One:

Cut the top and get all the guts out. 

Don't forget to save some of the seeds ... you will want to keep it going.

Step Two:

Cut into pieces and measure out 8 cups of pumpkin. (This batch is going to make about three pints of pumkin puree. A average sized pumpkin will be enough pumpkin to do this entire process twice, giving you a total of six pints per pumpkin.) Put the cut pieces into a large pot and add 4 cups of water. 

Step Four:

Over a medium heat, boil until pieces are tender. (Start boiling the water for the water bath canner with the jars inside.) Then, stain off most of the water. 

* Everything about water bath canning means HEAT. This is probably the only part the littles may need another activity to do. 

Step Five:

In a blender or food processor puree the mixture until smooth.

Step Six:

Add sugar to taste. I think I used about a cup. 

Step Seven:

Bring mixture to a boil. 

Step Eight:

Canning the puree: remove your hot jars from the canner and fill with the mixture. Leave an inch of headspace at the top. With a knife, stick it down into the jars and run along the sides of the jar to release air bubbles. Wipe the rims with a rag and put the bands and lids on hand tight. 

Process the jars inside the water bath canner for 20 mins. 

I reserved enough puree to fill our cupcake pan. We covered the pan and stuck it in the freezer for latter use. We will use the frozen puree in our pumpkin smoothies. Yum! 

Lastly, one of our favorite books!

The children reach for this book year round! Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween. 

** For information about Homeschooling or Homesteading products Ancient Path offers, we would love it very much if you took a look around our Etsy Shop. Our family is so grateful for all of you who have supported us over the years. Thank you!