Halloween Apple Folklore, Pumpkin Pie History & The Great Pumpkin Smash! 🎃 Part 2

<p>🎃 <strong>Halloween Horticulture: Spooky Plant Traditions, Historic Pumpkin Pie &amp; the Pumpkin Smash!</strong></p><p>What do apples have to do with predicting your future spouse? Why was rosemary believed to protect against evil spirits? And how did people make pumpkin pie in colonial times? 🌿🍎</p><p>On this episode of <em>Along the Rock</em>, host Kierstyn Long welcomes Bruce J. Black from Illinois Extension for a Halloween-themed horticulture adventure exploring the fascinating history behind apples, herbs, pumpkins, and spooky seasonal traditions.</p><p>Plus, discover the <strong>Third Annual Pumpkin Smash</strong> at Sauk Valley Community College! 🎃 Learn how you can help keep pumpkins out of landfills while enjoying pumpkin-smashing fun with a medieval-style trebuchet, a battering ram, a pumpkin piñata, and family-friendly educational activities.</p><p>📅 <strong>Pumpkin Smash</strong><br>Saturday, November 7<br>10 a.m. to noon<br>📍 Sauk Valley Community College<br>🎟️ Free and open to the public!</p><p>Bring your carved, painted, or whole pumpkins and gourds. Just remember to remove candles, glitter, and anything that won&#39;t naturally decompose.</p><p><br></p><p>👉 Don’t forget to like, share, comment and subscribe for more local stories from the Sauk Valley and beyond.</p><p><br></p><p>🎧 Listen to the full podcast and explore more at https://theradar.online</p><p><br></p><p>🎤 Highlights:</p><p><br></p><p>00:00 Welcome to Along the Rock</p><p>00:31 Apples and Halloween Traditions</p><p>00:56 The History of Bobbing for Apples</p><p>01:49 Apple Folklore and Finding Your Future Spouse</p><p>03:47 How Folklore Shapes Halloween Traditions</p><p>04:38 Gardening Experiments and Lessons Learned</p><p>05:21 Herbs, Plants and Halloween Superstitions</p><p>06:41 Plants, Culture and Halloween History</p><p>07:52 Apple Folklore and Halloween Urban Legends</p><p>08:34 Halloween Horticulture Trivia</p><p>09:04 Colonial Pumpkin Pie: True or False?</p><p>09:30 How Colonial-Era Pumpkin Pie Was Made</p><p>10:48 Recreating a Traditional Pumpkin Dessert</p><p>11:28 Making Pumpkin Custard at Home</p><p>12:42 Introducing the Pumpkin Smash Event</p><p>13:16 Why Recycling Pumpkins Matters</p><p>13:51 How the Pumpkin Smash Works</p><p>15:04 Last Year&#39;s Pumpkin Smash Results</p><p>16:26 A Medieval Trebuchet for Smashing Pumpkins</p><p>17:24 Pumpkin Pinata and Other Smash Stations</p><p>18:34 Turning Pumpkin Smashing into Compost</p><p>19:05 Pumpkin Smash Ev