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.