We raised 4000-5000 pounds of giant pumpkins this year. We share our fun here and at the bottom, you’ll find a link to watch elephants devouring giant pumpkins at the Portland zoo.
I wrote about giant pumpkins last year. This year we planted 4 plants. We don’t have room for 4 plants, but Don was hedging, so he thought: plant 4 and eliminate the 2 weakest plants after 2-3 weeks. Somewhere along the way, he lost track of the pumpkins for a week or so, during which the vines responded well to their last dose of fish emulsion, and the plants grew substantially, the vines crisscrossed and it was nearly impossible to tell which vine was from which plant, and they all seemed equally healthy! I wouldn’t say Don gave up at this point, but he abandoned all “strategy” and other than watering and occasional maintenance and insufficient weeding, let the patch go wild. Even with this irresponsible approach, we grew one giant, estimated at 870 pounds, and several others in the 200-400 lb range. Our pumpkin mentor, neighbor Dave Shewmaker, estimates we grew 4000-5000 lb of pumpkin. Here’s the giant:
And here is our second annual Fall display of pumpkins and scarecrows. We put lights on them again so they add a festive flair to our neighborhood.
Lots of fun. So when it’s time to shift from Fall display to Christmas display, what do we do with 4000-5000 pounds of pumpkins. We got one idea from the Portland zoo.
Watch this video, it is great.
We’re checking with the local zoo to see if they’re interested. The giant pumpkins will interest large animals, but they are not fit for pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread. Some pumpkin plants produce smaller fruit ideal for pies. The giants are a different species, Atlantic giant pumpkins (Curcurbita maxima). Besides competing in numerous contests around the country, the giant pumpkins also make interesting canoes and compete in several races! You can google “pumpkin canoes” for some more fun!
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