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This year, Farmer Ben decided to grow at least one giant pumpkin. We've tried it once before, but that's another story.
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| First thing he did was order the seeds. In order to get a really big pumpkin, you need to start with the right seed. Howard Dill, (pictured at right) who lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, is well-known for selling Dill's Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds. That name (Dill's Atlantic Giant) is even trade marked. Over 25 years of crossing large pumpkins with each other, he has gotten enormous pumpkins. Using his seeds, other growers have grown pumpkins to almost 1,500 pounds! Wow! |
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| (The photo above shows Larry Checkon, the 2005 winner of the largest pumpkin. Wow! 1,469 pounds! I stuck in photos, to size, of regular sized pumpkins to give you some sort of scale. Also, the large pumpkin is white and oddly shaped. Some of them are yellow, orange, white or green.) |
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| (Another photo to give you a sense of scale. The large top cut from a giant jack-o-lantern, compared with a standard sized Diet Coke can. Big, huh?) |
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There is a contest every year to determine the largest pumpkin. Last year's winner, Larry Checkon of North Carolina, (photo at left) grew a 1,469 pound pumpkin! It will be interesting to see who finally grows one over 1,500 pounds.
Farmer Ben put in a order for 8 Dill's Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds. They started them in the Homestead Farm greenhouse in trays May 19.
The seeds for our regular pumpkins are smaller, and coated with a fungicide The larger, white seeds are the Dill's Atlantic Giants.
The seeds take 130 days to fully mature into a full-grown pumpkin. They grow REALLY fast.
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The Homestead Farm greenhouse holds a couple trays of pumpkins so they can get a head start on the growing season. We can't put them into the ground until the chance of frost has past. In Montgomery County, Maryland, where we are located, that date is usually mid-May. But you can never tell with weather. You always take a chance that your vulnerable plant will be hit by frost and . Farmer Ben and his crew will put the plants into the field mid-June.
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I did say these plants grow really fast didn't I?
We will keep you up to date as to how our Atlantic Giants are doing this year. Stay tuned. |
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Interested in learning more about Dill’s Atlantic Giants and how to grow and care for them? There are many wonderful sites online. Do a Google search for them. You can also check the sites I've listed below. Enjoy!
Howard Dill - King of the Giant Pumpkins
Pumpkinnook.com
Great Pumpkins (has hints for teachers)
Club 1000 (for pumpkins over 1,000 pounds!)
Next Page!
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