JACK-o-lanterns hark back to the dark days — and especially nights — of superstition.
The times when there was more mystery in the world and when people did what they could in their own little ways to ward off evil spirits from their homes.
This was the role of the Jack-o-lantern, the real name for the carved pumpkin.
Monday is the Hallowe’en night that one of our pair of Dills Atlantic Giants will take to the Newport road ‘stage’ and frighten off those spooks and maybe attract pesky kids.
But that will be my partner’s mum’s concern — we will be in the tropical botanic garden on Madeira..!
One of the beauties of a giant pumpkin is that not all is wasted by using it for display; the carved-out flesh was utilised by my partner for a delicious spicy pumpkin soup.
There are also many other recipes for using a sweet, but essentially quite bland, fruit; from being a bulking and textural ingredient in a curry or quiche to a pumpkin and lemon puree mixed with booze.
LOVE TRYING NEW PUMPKIN RECIPES? Click here for some ideas!
Now is a good time to start preparing to grow one by improving the soil in your chosen pumpkin patch — digging-in well-rotted manure or garden compost, or by adding soil improver.
Pumpkins are hungry feeders and need a loose soil structure to spread their roots and suck up the goodness.
When you sow your seeds do not over-water.
Pumpkins hate being cold and wet which causes them to rot. Moisten the compost and don’t water it again until the surface has dried off.
To encourage germination, keep the seeds somewhere warm and light (25-30°C is ideal). Your seedlings should start to appear within a week.
After bringing-on your seedling in a greenhouse, in April plant it out with the first true leaf facing the direction you want the plants to grow in, as the main vine grows away from it.
For maximum size, cover your developing pumpkin with a white sheet. This will keep the sun off and stop it from ripening too quickly.
As the skin toughens it restricts expansion.
Keep watering the plant regularly and a high-nitrogen feed will encourage leaf growth and the vigour needed for big fruit. If possible, cover it with a cloche or horticultural fleece during chill spells in early growth.
In July yellow flowers will start to appear — the females have a tiny pumpkin at their base and only have stigma.
You can let the bees pollinate for you, or you can do it yourself by removing some male flowers and dabbing the pollen onto the centre of newly-opened females.
Wait until more than one flower has been pollinated and then see which pumpkin gets off to the best start, before removing the rest. Once your plant has been pollinated and fruit has started to develop behind the flowers, you can begin to give a high potassium tomato feed.
Let the fruit mature and colour on the plant on a board or slate to protect it from rot and remove it in mid-October.
If storing, allow skins to harden in the sun and remember to leave four inches of stem on the fruit to help prevent rot.
Ian Paton and his twin brother Stuart currently hold the record for the heaviest pumpkin grown in the UK with a fruit weighing-in at a staggering 1,504lb using the seed they have developed over several years.
RICHARD’S TOP TIPS:
You can email him on: richrydegardener@gmail.com
Are you decorating your home for Halloween? Or carving pumpkins to put out on your doorstep? Or dressing up with your children (and/or pets) for a Halloween party or trick-or-treating trip? If so, you can send us your favourite photos here!
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