One year my dad decided to raise a giant pumpkin to enter into the county fair. I was home for the summer from college, so I got to help the family in this endeavor. He decided not to plant it in one of the gardens because of the size of the plant. Instead he planted it next to the barn, toward their garage.
I think he had been inspired by going to a pumpkin festival the year before that featured giant pumpkins. He was determined to grew a giant pumpkin not a giant squash (apparently some “giant pumpkins” were squash).
After some research, he decided to limit the plants to one. He then left just a few pumpkins to grow large. Finally, it came down to just two large pumpkins. He watered and fertilized the pumpkins He even gave the pumpkins a lot of milk.
Here is the result:
Yes, that is just one vine. The pumpkin is near my sister toward the foreground.
A closer look shows the final chosen pumpkin to be several feet across.
It took a few men and a large blanket to put it in the back of a truck to get it to the fair. It won a blue ribbon first place trophy. The whole family was very happy, especially my dad.
I can’t remember how much it weighed…it was very heavy. After the fair, it was placed by a utility pole in my parents yard, where it stayed through Thanksgiving.
My parents and little sister carved the “runner up” and used it as a jack-o-lantern.
My daughter says she wants a giant pumpkin next year. My husband agrees we should try and grow one on this rock. I have my doubts that we will ever get one to grow at all, let alone one that large. Besides, we don’t have a cow to provide our milk.
However, I remember how much fun it was and I am willing to give it a try. It would be nice to have another great pumpkin.
