The Time Capsule | Roy Marshall
Cousin Dan and a friend have made a New Year’s resolution – to grow a pumpkin that weighs more than 1,000 pounds.
I wouldn’t bet against them. Dan is semi-retired and can give a little pumpkin the daily care it needs to become a monster. Nick, a young farmer into the science of plant growth and nutrition, is motivated by two toddlers who want a “really, really giant punkin.”
Our conversation revealed that a lot has happened in the pumpkin kingdom since I was raising jack-o-lanterns for our kids. Then a 100-pounder was enormous and the largest on record about 450 pounds. I did not know at the time that Howard Dill, of Windsor, Nova Scotia, was developing a variety capable of what seems to be unlimited growth. By 2000 his seeds and methods pushed the record to nearly 1,000 pounds. Gardeners from other countries got the fever and competition became international. Someone from Sweden topped 1,500 pounds. In 2011, the winner exceeded 1,800 pounds. In 2014, a German claimed the title with a grotesque 2,232-pounder, and last year the bar was raised to 2,624 pounds.
Dill called the variety he developed “Atlantic Giant.” Seeds can be had for $2 or $3 per packet. There are strains within the variety, though, and a single seed from a Goliath in the one-ton class will bring $100 and up. Dan and Nick are weighing their options.
Whatever seeds they settle on, planting won’t take place for four months. The site, though, has been selected – a half acre tract of rich, black soil that’s been tested, PH-adjusted to a pumpkin-perfect 6.5, and drilled to a winter cover crop.
Dan is working on pallets and sun screens. Pallets will be sturdy enough to keep growing pumpkins off the ground and hold the weight when the two or three largest are fork-lifted onto a trailer. Pumpkins like heat, but only up to a point; vines need sunshine, but the fruit not so much. Shade may be supplemented with wet blankets if temperatures reach 100 degrees.
Experts are inclined to keep their nutrient combinations secret, so Nick is formulating his own. In addition to the usual N, K, P and trace minerals, a sweetener may be included. One record holder claims he fed a mixture with maple syrup. Others use honey. They know what they’re doing, as gains of up to 50 pounds per day have been reported; a rate so rapid sidewalls often can’t support the weight and pumpkins may sprawl into lopsided lumps.
Dan and Nick will plant several well-spaced hills. Each hill will be culled to one plant and pruned regularly. Each vine is expected to set several pumpkins. Following an evaluation period, all but one per vine will be removed.
Due to concerns about vandalism, Dan prefers we not disclose his last name, which could be used to find the location of his geeky experiment. We will, though, take a few pictures as the summer progresses and keep you posted.
If we have a reader who grows them in the 1,000-pound class, I’d like to know. Wife thinks I should give it a try; if for no other reason than to see if deer like pumpkins as well as watermelon.
Roy Marshall is a local historian and columnist for the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at news@redoakexpress.com.