The Wisdom of Pumpkins

Lessons in nourishment, grounding, and gratitude from the heart of the patch.

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This past month, I had the unassuming privilege of working at the pumpkin patch just down the street from my house. I took the job on a whim — something I’d always wanted to do. I mean, really, who doesn’t want to work at a pumpkin patch?

The season brought sunshine, happy families, and an endless sea of pumpkins in every size, shape, and color imaginable. I found myself completely content wandering through the rows, arranging displays with my favorite specimens, and helping visitors discover their perfect pumpkins.

The work was physical, lifting, hauling, stacking; but somehow, that made it even better. It pulled me out of my head and deep into my body, grounding me in the rhythm of the season. Each day I left tired but content, heart full, cheeks pink from the autumn air.

The Question That Wouldn’t Leave Me: Are All Pumpkins Edible...

As the month went on, one question kept coming up from customers: “Are all pumpkins edible?”

The official answer was always the same:“ Only the sugar pie pumpkins.”

At first, I repeated it easily. But with each echo, something in me stirred. Only the sugar pies? That couldn’t be right. How could whole acres of pumpkins, all these living & growing beings, exist just for decoration? Surely the earth wasn’t that wasteful.

At home, surrounded by my own personal hoard of pumpkins (I tend to get a bit carried away in the name of seasonal décor), the question wouldn’t let me go. Every year I stack them around my porch in shades of rust, gold, and blue... and every year, I toss them into the compost bin after Thanksgiving.

Not this year.

The Research

One night, curiosity got the better of me. I started researching each variety and to my delight, I discovered that every single pumpkin is edible.

Every. Single. One.

Some are sweet and velvety like butternut, others rich and savory, perfect for soups or sauces. Some are best roasted, some for baking, and others for hearty stews. Every pumpkin has a purpose.

And what does one do when faced with newfound knowledge like that? You set out to prove it, of course.

The First Volunteer

I stepped outside and scanned my front porch for the perfect volunteer. My eyes landed on a beautiful blue-gray Jarrahdale, glistening softly in the afternoon light.

After washing and drying his thick skin, I rubbed him down with olive oil and sprinkled a generous pinch of salt. A simple act of reverence before the oven did its work.

For the next hour and a half, the house filled with the rich, earthy scent of roasted pumpkin. The Jarrahdale’s flesh turned a deep, golden orange, dense and creamy, a cross between sweet potato and chestnut. I pan-fried a few pieces for dinner, then tucked the rest back into the oven for another slow hour of caramelization.

The next day, I turned that roasted gold into soup ... blending it with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and a hint of lemongrass for brightness. The result? Pure autumn comfort in a bowl.

Roasted Jarrahdale pumpkin- are all pumpkins edible

A Week of Pumpkin Magic

Just a few days earlier, I’d roasted two sugar pie pumpkins and baked them into pies. Another first for me. Between those, the Jarrahdale soup, and a fridge full of roasted pumpkin flesh (which, I’ve discovered, makes a perfect stand-in for mashed potatoes), I realized I could probably feed my entire neighborhood for a week.

But what filled me most wasn’t just the food, it was the discovery. The simple joy of learning something new, of challenging a small piece of assumed knowledge, of realizing how much abundance sits quietly in plain sight.

The Lesson in the Patch

Next year, when someone asks me which pumpkins are edible, I’ll smile and tell them, “All of them.”

Each one bumpy, round, smooth, or speckled; is a gift from the earth. Some sweet, some savory, all nourishing in their own way.

And maybe that’s the deeper harvest of the season: to see value where we were taught to see décor, to use what we have instead of discarding what we don’t understand, to taste life in all its shapes and colors.

So here’s to the Jarrahdales, the Cinderellas, the Caspers, the Fairytales ... to the humble pumpkin in all its edible glory. And to the quiet joy of discovering that the world, like a good soup, is always richer than we first imagined.

Breathe, receive, and welcome the magic,

~Shai