dawn.wrightson wrote
This year on my allotment i want to grow a "Giant Atlantic Pumpkin"
with my 8yr old son, and he would like to enter it into a local
competition, and any money he gets from winning he wants to donate to
a charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind, as i am going blind. Any tips or
hints on how to grow the biggest from seed would be very appreciated!
Cos we want to win! Thanks.

Some of the successful chaps at the Boot Inn Pumpkin Club, Berwick St.James,
plant their very special seed on Christmas day! I believe some of them got
their original seed from the USA but they are very cagey, they then use
their own saved seed from right near the stalk end of the biggest fruit.....

So, they should be planted now with warmth and grown on with regular
repotting until you can plant them out about the first week in June. Plant a
few and discard any that look weak, they say the biggest seed gives the
biggest plant and therefore biggest fruit.

They will need plenty of water and feed, never let them dry out or have any
other check to their constant growth.

Before you plant out prepare the ground by digging in lots of compost over
the whole area, but most important, dig a large hole at least a spit and a
half deep and round where the plant will be planted and fill it with well
rotted compost into which you can mix just a little soil.
If you have a polytunnel to grow them in so much the better.
Once out in the ground build a little dam (saucer) around the plant with the
removed soil so you can water right where the roots are, push a long stick
into this dam so you will still know where to water once the plant has taken
over the whole garden. A gallon of water a day to start, double later as a
minimum, don't let the leaves wilt.
Later, as the plant extends, cover over the leaf nodes with soil/compost and
provided there is moisture they will root there as well, from then on the
whole area will need to be kept moist. Lets hope there are no hosepipe
bans.

When a good healthy pumpkin starts to grow ensure the growth of the fruit
does not strain or rip the stalk from it, you may have to gently move it. Do
not let any other fruit start to form on that plant, they probably won't
anyway. Place something strong and smooth under the fruit so it can
grow/slide easily. Watch out for mice.
Later in the season if we start to get cool nights and the fruit are still
growing cover the fruit in the evening/night with something to keep it warm.
I kid you not. :-)

Feeding, that's a whole subject in itself. Use a high nitrogen to start with
once it's planted out then a balanced feed, I also use Seaweed Extract
rather a lot too.

Good luck, wonderful things for children (of all ages) to grow as big
pumpkins put on weight so quickly once they start that you can actually see
it day on day.

To move a large pumpkin roll it gently onto one side and then the other
whilst someone pushes a strong sheet under it then the required number of
strong people grip the sheet and lift.

And a few years ago the junior prize (under 16) at the above mentioned club
was won with a fruit of over 440lbs.

Most importantly, have fun.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden