Submitted Photo Esther McGinnis, NDSU Extension horticulturist, stands next to a giant pumpkin on the NDSU campus, and shares some little-known facts about Submitted pumpkin in this week’s Dakota Gardener. (NDSU photo)

We are in the waning days of pumpkin season. I’ve consumed pumpkin spice lattes, cake and even lager. Now, we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and eating pumpkin pie. Before we transition to eggnog and candy canes, let’s celebrate all things pumpkin with some little-known facts.

— Pumpkin is a fruit. Technically, pumpkin, squash, zucchini and cucumber are all botanical fruits because they developed from a pollinated flower and contain seeds. From a cook’s viewpoint, pumpkin is hard to definitively classify as a vegetable or fruit because it can be prepared either as a s

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