Is it a squash, pumpkin, or watermelon?

As I posted before, our backyard was a lot of dirt, glass, weeds, and dead grass when we bought our house a year ago.  Once we cleaned up, laid grass, planted a small vegetable garden, I was surprised when I found more life than when we first moved in!  In addition to johnny jump ups, snapdragons, and a plum tree we didn’t know would yield fruit, there were some very large leaves growing in one corner of our garden.  My first thought was squash after seeing flowers appear with the meaty leaves.

Then when the squash turned round with curly branches, it looked more like a pumpkin.  But knowing nothing about squash, watermelon, or pumpkins, I couldn’t be sure…

Until it turned orange!!  Quarter below pumpkin for scale

Now I need to do my research to see how to keep these guys growing.  As you can see from the picture above, there were heavy branches laying on the pumpkin when we were on vacation, and they literally left their mark!!  I am hopeful that they stay till Halloween so that I can use them for carving because nobody in my family enjoys pumpkin pie.  Or maybe I can bake a few for the neighbors.

Have you grown pumpkins before? Any pro tips to share with this accidental pumpkin grower?