AGES: 5 and up, with lots of help; 8 and up, more independently

PROJECT: Growing a pumpkin patch

GOALS: To learn about gardening and try simple pumpkin experiments

Adults may plant gardens in hopes of cultivating tender baby vegetables, but kids often have a different agenda--the pure pursuit of size. They want to grow towering sunflowers, rotund tomatoes or zucchini the size of baseball bats. Pumpkins, therefore, are a perfect kid crop. They are big, they are colorful, they lend themselves to some pretty cool experiments and they will be ready just in time for Halloween.

MATERIALS

•A sunny garden plot, figuring 3 by 3 feet of space per plant
•A shovel
•Peat moss or other soil enhancer
•Pumpkin seedlings or high-yield pumpkin seeds soaked overnight in lukewarm water
•Liquid fertilizer, such as fish emulsion

SITING AND DIGGING THE PLOT

The first step is to help your child select and prepare a garden spot. Be sure you have chosen a location that will get six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day. Help your child dig up an area 2 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter for each pumpkin vine he plans to grow. As you dig, review a few gardening basics. Explain that the plants will need air, water, sunlight and nutrients (from soil and fertilizer). What's more, they will produce some of the oxygen that we breathe. Once your gardener has picked out a sunny spot for his pumpkins, he just needs to be sure they get plenty of water and some occasional extra food. To enrich the soil, he can mix it with a combination of peat moss, compost and dried manure.

PLANTING THE PATCH

Now, the soil is ready for sowing. If your child is starting his plants from seeds, he should use his finger to push three or four seeds 1 to 2 inches into the soil in each spot where he wants a plant. Pat dirt over the seeds and water well, being careful not to flood them. The seeds will sprout in about 10 days. A few weeks after seedlings appear, choose the strongest one from each spot and pull the rest. If your child decides to start with seedlings, he should dig a small hole in the prepared soil and carefully set the plant in it so that the soil level in the garden is the same as it was in the container.

GROWING PERFECT PUMPKINS

As the seedlings grow, they need to be kept weeded and well watered. If the weather is hot and dry, your child should water them every other day. To help the soil retain moisture and to nourish the plant, he can place a mulch layer of grass clippings, straw or dead leaves around the vines and feed them with liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks.

As the vines grow, flowers will begin to appear. Explain to your child that each flower will grow into a pumpkin--if it isn't picked or eaten by a bug or snail. To grow just a few large pumpkins, pinch off the smaller flowers and leave only two or three of the strongest ones on each branch. Soon, tiny pumpkins will appear and grow rapidly. When they are so big that they are resting on the ground, slip small boards underneath to keep them from rotting. Giving the pumpkins a careful turn every few days will help them ripen evenly.

HARVEST

When harvest time comes at last, your fledgling farmer can test for ripeness by trying to scratch the pumpkins with his fingernail, which should not be able to break the skin. To remove the giants from the vine, help him use a sharp knife to cut the stems to 2 or 3 inches long. Give them a rinse and a polish and set them on your porch for the world to admire.

TRICKS AND TREATS

Depending on how many pumpkins you grow, you can try one or more of the following experiments with them.

TATTOO A PUMPKIN: Your child can write his name or draw a design on a baby pumpkin with a ballpoint pen, then go back over what he has written and break the skin of the pumpkin with the pen tip. As the pumpkin grows, so will the design.

PEAR-SHAPED PUMPKIN: When the pumpkin is still round and green, tie a length of rope or cord tightly around its middle. As it grows, it will balloon above and below the rope, forming a kind of head and body.

SQUARE PUMPKIN: Gently slide a small pumpkin still on the vine inside a plastic, 1/2-gallon milk container. (If necessary, support the container so the pumpkin does not snap off the vine.) As the vegetable grows, it will fill the space inside the container. When it has done so, carefully cut the container away, leaving your square pumpkin on the vine.

GIGANTIC PUMPKIN: Plant a large-variety seed, such as Jack-O'-Lantern; when pumpkins appear, prune off all but the one closest to the main vine. Once that pumpkin reaches about 10 inches in diameter, help your child use a sharp knife to make a tiny slit in the stem 2 to 3 inches from the pumpkin. Insert one end of a cotton string or shoelace into the slit and let the other end hang into a bucket of water. Keep the bucket filled and watch the pumpkin grow as it wicks the water to satisfy an enormous thirst.

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS: If your child cuts open a pumpkin to make a jack-o'-lantern, he can save the seeds and turn them into a tasty snack. Rinse off the seeds, let them dry on a paper towel, then mix them in a bowl with two to three tablespoons of vegetable oil and a few dashes of salt. Spread them on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about an hour, stirring them every 10 minutes. Let cool and eat.

For more interesting pumpkin lore, including recipes, crafts and pumpkin facts, look for IN A PUMPKIN SHELL: OVER 20 PUMPKIN PROJECTS FOR KIDS by Jennifer Storey Gillis.