Get the best out of your pumpkins this autumn If the weather has put paid to your harvest, all's not lost: the shoots, tender tips and flowers of squash and pumpkin plants are eaten throughout the world, according to television botanist James Wong, in his new book Homegrown Revolution. He advises us to snip off the shoots after a few fruits have formed and then cook like any leafy green. In Africa they are fried with garlic, in Korea they are steamed and sprinkled with sesame oil and chilli, while in Thailand they are simmered gently in coconut milk. Flowers can be stuffed with ricotta, lemon zest and pine nuts, battered then deep-fried. James suggests you pick the male flowers (those without swollen fruit-forming stems), so you don't sacrifice future fruit. To tell the truth, the cucurbit family (courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes) is not my favourite in the kitchen. I love a hearty butternut squash and coconut milk soup, warmed with harissa to banish the autumn blues; a pumpkin, blue cheese and pine nut risotto to keep me warm till the central heating has to go on, and love pan-roasted cubes of anything firm and orange with garlic and chilli, but feel they are just carriers of the delicious flavours you put with them. I'm told, however, that Jaspee de Vendee is sweet enough to be eaten raw and I know Crown Prince is really tasty. I do love them to decorate the house, though. To me nothing personifies harvest safely gathered in than the rich colours and glorious shapes of this family. I leave rows of squashes on window sills (I still have a Turk's Turban from last year, dried hollow, ready to be sprayed gold); stack bowls with multicoloured gourds; leave piles in my covered porch to welcome guests, and play games with my grandson as he loads them into his cart and wheels them aroun. Small Jack-be-Littles make good candle holders with their centres hollowed out; monster Dill's Atlantic Giant or Hundredweight make spectacular Hallowe'en statements, though Becky is easier to carve. All squashes - butternut, acorn, banana and hubbard - are fun to grow and show off. Like Mr Upton, save and display their glorious autumnal colours before winter's gloom sets in. How to grow squash and pumpkin Speedy growers and greedy feeders all need manure-rich soil and plenty of water. Sow frost-free under protection in April/May or outdoors in early June. Do not overwater at this stage or allow to rot. Liquid potash feed as plants begins to grow. If you want a whopper, remove all competition. Watch out for slugs and snails and prop fruits on upturned terracotta pots. Fruits continue to ripen into October. Remove and bring undercover before frosts and leave to colour up. Near Arundel, West Sussex, the festival is open every day at 9.30am until early November (depending on the weather - see slindon.com). St Richard's Church Pumpkin Café is open from October 27 to November 3. The scarecrow competition runs from October 18-27 (contact 01243 814165). For details of estate walks including the Walk of Doom, phone 01243 814730.