The frost didn’t kill the plants but it didn’t help their health or giant pumpkin prospects. There’s really no rush to get squash in early unless you’re aiming for a 1000lbs Malvern show entry, you only take a frost risk and the outcome isn’t typically better than waiting a couple of weeks. ![]() My plants are always covered in plastic grow-tunnels at the outset ( to give them a temperature boost) but they did still get a little burned by that frost in 2017 and if you look carefully at the second photograph below you can see some yellowing of the leaves. In 2016 I got a little ahead of myself, planted out my pumpkins in early May and then got stung by a frost on Eurovision night (I’ll never forget it!). ![]() Then plant out in mid May with a careful eye on the weather forecast for late frosts. Beyond 3-4 weeks it will start to take over the greenhouse! I’d recommend initially sowing in a greenhouse or on a windowsill three weeks before the final frost of the year (usually after the Grand National in the UK). It takes around 3 weeks to be large enough to plant out at your allotment and you may need to pot it on in the interim. Get a good Atlantic Giant seed ( you can source good seeds online) and then sow the seed on its edge just below the surface of a small pot of compost inside a warm greenhouse. At my allotment I don’t only grow Atlantic Giant pumpkins, I also grow Butternut Squashes, Turks Turbans, Rouge Vif D’Etampes, American Tondo, Black Futsu and a few other pumpkins for eating and entry into the Autumn show… but the giants are the ones I obsess over… Think of a giant pumpkin as your pumpkin skills improvement project. Of course if you become an expert in growing giant pumpkins then all the techniques are completely transferable to other squash and pumpkins and they’ll grow better as a result. ![]() It’s ironic that giant pumpkins do, in my experience, offer little in taste – but I don’t grow them for anything more than the size challenge – how big will they get? Can I get them to grow bigger? Will they be the biggest in the Dorking squash and pumpkin show?! In the summer months my giant pumpkins become like my pets, I worry about them at night, I water them, I water them some more, they get daily attention, liquid manure feeds, their flowers get hand pollinated and the vines get ‘managed’. However, unlike those other veg which are pretty easy to sow and forget about, most squash and pumpkins need regular nurturing and none more so than Atlantic Giants. Of all the plants I grow at my allotment, those I most look forward to growing are giant pumpkins. I can’t say they’re high up on our list of ‘most eaten’ home-grown vegetables, that honour falls to potatoes, sweetcorn, onions, swedes, leeks and runner beans.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |