…the tighter the sweater”…or at least that’s what we used to say in high school
Ed Note: Everyone who knows me…well just about everyone would tell you that I have somewhat of an attraction to the upper qualities of the female figure. I’m pretty sure that my fascination with giant pumpkins is not an extension of that, and the only similarity that I could make is that the larger they both get, usually the uglier they are.
Many years I became fascinated by what I called at that time “Extreme Gardening” In my quest to grow just about anything in the back yard, I got on this kick to grow tall corn, tall and large Sunflowers and big pumpkins. that first year I was pretty successful growing a row of Sunflowers that topped 9 feet. I was pretty proud. The pumpkin I grew that year was maybe 45 pounds…not all that exciting by the days standards.
Back then the record for large pumpkin had not yet broken 1000 pounds. average big guns were in the low 900 lb. range. so big you could you could hollow it out, throw on an outboard motor and float it across a lake with 1 maybe 2 passengers.
in the years that followed I was able to grow some 12 foot white corn, and my pumpkins started coming larger and larger 4 years ago I grew a 250 pound that we carved and put on display at our church for the Hallelujah Night. The year before I entered a pumpkin in a contest but came in 5th overall and there have been no local contests since.
That was the last year I grew large pumpkins…Our kids were more mobile, and they needed more year round yard, so I decided to put “Extreme Gardening” on the shelf for a while
A few years ago I started helping in the schools harden. our kids were kindergartners and I helped them grow some lettuce and tomatoes for a Thanksgiving feast. over a few years my garden commitment grew…so to speak..and I now have charge over the whole thing. This year I took a chance and planted an Atlantic Giant Pumpkin in the garden. I knew would take over, so I fenced off a good portion…maybe 300 sq feet. the kids were not all that happy about loosing half of their garden, but the fruit that they watched grow was amazing to them. by the time school was over, the pumpkin weighed about 40 lb and still growing.
Fast forward: Today I received in the mail my “Magic Beans” Pumpkin seeds from a 400# gourd passed along from Ray Waterman in New York State. P & P Seed is the place where I bought my first big pumpkin seeds. each year I’d save the seeds from that pumpkin for planting the next season.
The seeds for these pumpkins are like seeds on steroids. pictured with a quarter. they dwarf anything you’d find at garden store, or in the market in a “David’s Toasted Pumpkin Seed” bag
So Here I am on day one of about 120 day journey to grow yet another big pumpkin. The first thing I have to do is get the seeds started in peat pots…in about 10 days they’ll go into the ground that I’ve prepared and I’m off. The only real rub is that I should have started this back in May. from now on the days are getting shorter and daylight and heat are essential for growing the big dogs. there are only 100 or so days to Halloween
