Growing bigger pumpkins

submitted by: Rob Smith

When I was a kid I always wanted the biggest pumpkin I could find for my jack-o-lantern. But all the pumpkins on the road side were about the size of a basketball. And I being the typical seven year old, I couldn't have a pumpkin that was the same size as my sister's. Even in our own garden the pumpkins wouldn't get any bigger than the ones on the road side.

When we planted the garden in spring, my sister and I would each get one mound to plant our pumpkins. Every year the results were the same, the pumpkins were all about the same size. When I saw the news coverage of worlds biggest pumpkin competition in Springville, NY, I was amazed. When I told my grandfather that I wanted to grow my pumpkins like that he gave me a couple of tips.

First off, to grow the 1,000lb pumpkin you need the seeds for the giant pumpkins. But, these tips will grow regular pumpkins quite bigger than normal.

The first thing grandpa told me was to pinch off all blossoms except one. That way all the nutrients are given to one pumpkin instead of four or five. He said that I should leave the blossom that is closest to the plant. I don't know why, I never asked him.

The second trick he shared with me was to feed the plant all our sour milk. I think regular milk is good too, but it is kind of a waste, so we just used milk that went sour.

The next thing he told me was to make sure to water the plant everyday. Also he would mix up a little Miracle Grow with some water, and have me water the plant with it every couple days.

These tips really worked. When fall came, my pumpkin was twice as big as any of my sister's pumpkins. I was so big that I had to roll it to the house from the garden. I would say that my pumpkins from then on were roughly two feet in diameter.

So I guess the formula is 1 blossom + milk + water + fertilizer + a lot of attention = one big damn pumpkin!