Video narration
How does a tiny seed turn into a pumpkin? You may have watched a seed split open in a cup, sending out a root and a little shoot. In the garden, that same beginning pushes through the soil, then grows into a leafy vine that stretches across the ground. Soon, the vine makes flowers. Some are male, some female, and many flowers never become fruit. Here's the turning point: a pumpkin doesn't grow straight from the vine. It starts when pollen reaches a female flower-that's pollination. Once pollination happens, the flower's base starts swelling into a tiny green pumpkin. The flower fades away, while the fruit keeps growing, becoming larger and changing color as it ripens. A seed starts the vine; a pollinated flower becomes the pumpkin.