Grand Champion declared!

The day of reckoning arrived.

Lea and Zdenka, our official judges, began measuring (circumference and weight) with the careful attention and reverence that we could expect from professionals in the workplace. (Well, they were the only ones who would do this. Thanks for nothing, Ron!)

And the results showed a clear cut winner (the one with bandaids on the stem.) Apparently, thieves tried to cut off Audrey and her husband on the way to work forcing them to slam on the brakes as they out maneuvered the would-be culprits. "Big Boy" took a tumble but survived for the weigh-in. Audrey, you do know that it's the responsibility of the driver to make sure occupants are properly restrained. Actually, being 5 months old, "Big Boy" should have been in a child seat. Oh well, next time.

The scoring results were officially (who's counting?):

1. Audrey 64.1

2. Dan 44.4

3. Sonia 41.8

4. Laurel 39.3

5. Alida 34.5

Congratulations to Audrey for her winning green thumb.

It was a lot of fun for everyone.

See you next spring.

Here today, gone tomorrow!

As the season winds down

I heard through the pumpkin vine that Audrey's pumpkin has a 29" waist. Ours don't come close and I'm afraid with the frost we received Saturday night that the race has been lost...perhaps one of them will win the "Miss Congeniality" title. After all they did happily share space with petunias, and tomatoes and zucchini, playing nice with all of them.

Orange speckles

The Great Pumpkin Patch

in Lorette

We have about 10 punkins in the bunch now.

Two are nearly the size of a soccer ball and are starting to turn from green to orange.

Check it out ...

Late bloomers

Due to the extreme business of my summer I got my pumpkin seeds in very late. And then got the seedlings in the ground even later. Not procrastination, just too darn busy. Anyway, after I noticed the seedlings were starting to turn yellow I finally decided it was "now or never" time and got out the trowel and the unnaturally blue fertilizing chemicals.

I had a long, empty strip of soil in the sunniest part of the yard that I had intended to use for flowers but as the garden centers' supply of flowers was already dwindling at that point I figured I may as well fill it with pumpkins. It so bare with four puny, yellowing pumpkin seedlings. (Yes, only four because I dropped one of the seeds down the drain when I was planting them.)

After a couple of weeks my kids were delighted (as was I) with the big orange blossoms that started to appear. My 5-year-old son enlisted himself as "chief waterer" and made it his duty to water them after daycare every day. I think he just likes having an excuse to use the hose, but that's fine with me.

Last night we got back from a two-week holiday and were shocked to find that our little sprouts have not only taken over the garden, but were starting to spill over the sidewalk too. There is hope for them yet!

There are no actual pumpkins yet, although I think I'm going to inspect a little more thoroughly this evening now that I've read a few of the other posts on this blog.

A few more contenders in Lorette

We found a few more hiding under the leaves this weekend ...

Tourist attraction in Lorette

Left: My favourite! The picture doesn't do it justice - it's about the size of a baseball.

Middle: The great green hope! This, so far, is my prize pumpkin. It measures about four inches in length.

Right: My husband thought planting the pumpkin seeds (along with sunflower seeds and other assorted plants) in the flower bed in our front yard was a good idea ... they've overtaken the flower bed, the sidewalk leading to our front door and are slowly creeping on to the front yard. It's become a site to see for the locals!

Moving Again

We got tired of all our grandbaby pumpkins dying and decided to let her move into a new space...maybe that will make a difference. My brother posted photos of his pumpkins on facebook -- and let me know that he once grew a 300 lb. pumpkin. I've asked for tips.

Transcona Pumpkin Patch Takes Over the Yard!

Lots of growth in my garden. The flowers are phenomenal and the vines are taking over our deck! My neighbour thought they were cucumber plants and wanted to know what I was using for fertilizer.

I have tried trimming (pruning) and cut off a few babies by accident.

Another contender?

Okay, so my first contender dried up and fell off.

Here's my contender #2 and a big, beautiful blossom taken after last night's two inches of rain.

Trimming the pumpkin

So we decided to trim the pumpkin that's in the pot - although it's had lots of fruit so far but they're drying up after they get to a certain size - we'll see if limiting its growth helps.

A Contender?

The pictures a little blurry, but the pumpkin ain't.

Prunig your pumpkin

A few of our intrepid pumpkin growers have been wondering about pruning their pumpkins -- here's some information I found on that subject.

Pruning allow better management of your crop, andit will also encourage the plant to devote it's energies towards fruit growth.

The main vine should be pruned when it reaches ten to fifteen feet beyond the last fruit you are leaving on the plant. Secondary vines (or runners) should be trimmed when they reach ten to twelve feet from the main vine.

Trimming a vine is simple. Cut the vine at the end and bury the end by placing a shovelful or two of soil over the cut end. Burying the vine is recommended, but not essential. It will minimize moisture loss while the cut is fresh and minimize the possibility of disease entering through the wound.

After pruning the vines, you will likely experience a proliferation of new vines. There will be new runners off the main vine and new runners on the runners. This is the same as when you trim a bush or hedge row. The result is a bushier, healthier plant.

Continue to pinch off any new growth beyond the limits recommended above and the plant will turn it's energy towards fruit growth. A little extra potassium and a little less nitrogen will further encourage the fruit growth as opposed to vine and leaf growth.

If you don't trim the vines, the overall health of your plant will not be affected. But, you are not doing anything to enhance fruit growth which after all is the endgame. In addition, your patch will look unruly which may or may not bother you.....your call.

Happy growing!

Trying to give Alida a run for her money...

I do hope my brave little blossom is going to turn into a little pumpkin.

Time to catch up with our babies

Of our initial five babies, this was one of the first to leave the safety of the greenhouse. When we first planted him, our grape plant wasn't even thinking about spring yet. But now, the race is on and I'm not sure which of the two is going to be bigger. I couldn't believe it when I saw the yellow pumpkin flowers poking out through the tangle of grape leaves. I'd pretty much written that poor little pumpkin off -- but now I think he's absolutely amazing!

The second baby is gigantic. We placed him in our antique seeder/discer. He was supposed to share that space with petunias, and tomotoes, zucchini and cucumbers but I think they're all losing out to his need to grow.

The third baby to leave the nest was provided with a "nest egg" and she's the first to become a parent. Her little one grows a little bigger everyday. We just have to decide whether to limit her to one baby, as she's confined to a pot or whether to allow her to have as many as she'd like.

The poor fourth baby, who's home should have been the optimum place for a pumpkin to grow is the victim of too much rain...but Dan's seeds were strong...he continues to hang in there and produce flowers. Unfortunately, although I headed out to the garden to take his picture, the mosquitoes quickly chased me back to the safety of my deck.

Finally, more leaves and a flower

It took a while to take, but it's finally starting to grow. The special "tea" is working.

A even closer look, believe it or not that's 3 plants!

A little closer look at our 3 pumpkins!

Finally proof our pumpkins are growing

Watch them grow!

Early June to late June

Blossoms

I've never paid so much attention to a pumpkin plant. Thanks to Sonia's post, I also checked for blossoms. Wow. Good seeds, Dan!
Laurel

Our pumpkin

Thanks to Alida for this fantatic pumpkin. Our daughters planted it and are watering it everyday, and counting the leaves. It is up to nine leaves and they were thrilled there is a blossom on it today. Sonia

Time to say good-bye

But I'm sure we'll keep in touch...

Saying good-bye to our brave little pumpkin

Quintuplets are a lot of work...believe it or not. Looking after five little pumpkins, holy crow, that's takes time. They've almost taken over our lives. And yet, we needed a little time to think about giving one up. However, we're sure our little pumpkin is going to a good home.

So thank you, Sonia, for offering to lighten our load. I hope you all enjoy our as of yet unnamed quint, as much as we have. We've love them all, but we really appreciate your offer to adopt one...and look forward to watching him grow at your house.

I'm sure you and your family will find him a welcome addition to your home. Enjoy!

Three little pumpkins set out to see the world, and then there were two ...

The littlest pumpkin got tired of the overcrowding and begged to move out so we allowed him to leave the security of the greenhouse. We created a unique pot environment for him...a hard-boiled egg with the shell slightly cracked in the bottom of a large clay pot. The two who left home earlier this month survived the 3+ inches of rain we received over the weekend. Since, like the three little pigs, each of the siblings has a different home to grow in, we're waiting to see who'll grow up the strongest...stay tuned.

Growing Up

So, two of the quintuplets have now fled the safety of their first home -- the green house. One has found a home in what we call our hot tub garden, the other is in our antique seeder/discer -- the two of many inventive ways we garden in spite of way too much water, and way too many deer.

We're still looking for homes for the other three -- all in the search for the best way to grow the pumpkin that will win this contest.

Stay tuned.

First born and sibling

A first born followed by a sibling. Wow!

Our quintuplets have arrived

Yesterday, there were three shoots -- one still had a seed pod hanging on to its sprout but by 4:00 this afternoon, all five have pushed their way up and out towards the sunshine. I'm leaving the children analogy for Dan to write about, but I must admit I almost think of these little plants as my children...and I'm looking forward to watching them grow.

One of my seeds has sprung...one lonely sprout, hope to see more with the warm weather this weekend!

This week on Desperate Housepumpkins

What's happening on Hysteria Lane this week?

MONDAY - Obscenely-wealthy protagonist Orangia Steamy-Pile meets with lawyers to open her deceased husband's safe-deposit box, only to discover a secret birth certificate that proves Squash is her long lost twin sister’s second-cousin twice removed’s next door neighbor’s former college roommate. Meanwhile, Gourd declares his undying love for Orangia.

TUESDAY - Distracted during a heated arguement with Butternut over shipping Fennel off to military school, Sprout loses control of the car just as they round “Spinal Fracture Point”, plunging into a rocky ravine.

WEDNESDAY - Having tricked Mash out of his majority shareholding, Oregano is finally in a position to mount a hostile takeover of International Pie & Cider Inc.

THURSDAY - While being placed under arrest by the Patchville police for the Contessa’s murder, Cuke faints into Carat’s arms, slipping into unconscious labour.

FRIDAY - On her deathbed, Tuliptua confesses that she herself is the Contessa’s murderer, dramatically revealing that the phony Prince's body is hidden in the boathouse.

From Laurel - Two pumpkin pics for our Pumpkin Growers gallery…

The Pumpkin Seed Hand-off

Our illustrious leader returned from Brandon, and scheduled the seed hand-off. MPI's Pumpkin Growers, 21 strong and growing, met at the water cooler at 11:45 a.m., April 28. Shortly after the hand-off Scott sent an email with a "link to a site that has a lot of good information about growing pumpkins (for those of us who have never done so)".

http://www.informeddemocracy.com/pumpkin/growing.html

Last night Dan visited garden centres for the first time in many years...and will plant his seeds today. I handed my seeds off to my husband, who has the green thumb in our family. He'll plant them today as well.

And then the waiting begins for the first signs of life to push up through the soil.

Let the growing begin

Dan Pang, the instigator of our enormous undertaking is off to Brandon next week to purchase the pumpkin seeds. One of the determining factors in your ability to grow a world-record pumpkin is starting with good seed. And Brandon is the home of McKenzie Seeds - Canada's number one supplier of packaged seeds. So Dan thought it would be a good time for a road trip.

For those of you who've never grown a pumpkin before, the following links provide tips to get you started:

http://www.niagara.com/infocor/pumpkinfarm/module/growingtips.html

And if you don't have garden space -- here's a link to tips for growing in a container:

http://cecalaveras.ucdavis.edu/giant.htm

Want to join our pumpkin endeavour, post pictures and comments as your plant grows, send me an email and I'll add you as an author.