Eggplants Masquerading As Pumpkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Did you see those pumpkins on a stick? They're often sold by the stem in a flower market and look like someone wired four or five tiny orange pumpkin-y things on a branch. But that's how they grow, except, they're not really pumpkins, they're a member of the eggplant family.

Also known as 'Mock Tomato,' as well as various versions of Asian eggplant; they are edible, enjoyed by some in stir fry dishes, although they're said to be bitter, as eggplants can be.

But even if you never eat them, you can grow them as an ornamental annual. The plant gets about 3 or 4 feet high, like a small shrub and they seem to be pretty easy to grow. Just get a pack of seeds to plant next spring.

Over the summer, the fruits first appear like green tomatoes, then turn scarlet red, and then when the weather cools, become bright orange. You get several stalks of pumpkins per plant, so with just a few seeds, you'll have plenty of homegrown 'Pumpkins on a Stick' to use as Halloween decorations next year.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio