There has been a new development in the ongoing saga of Laura and the Giant Pumpkin that I haven’t yet revealed. Perhaps you recall that a few weeks back I mentioned that our pumpkin seemed to have stalled. Turns out I was right. Upon further investigation we discovered that our precious pumpkin had met an untimely demise. It died and we didn’t know. We didn’t even get to say goodbye as it slowly began to rot. I know, I know… poor Pumpky.
But…
New life sprung up out of the ashes..or the vines as the case might be. Much to our surprise, a second pumpkin began to grow, and we watched while it grew in excess of the first one. This was one of the clues that there was something amiss with the first one. Sadly, Pumpky ended up in the compost heap. It was all we could do.
So…
We started again and here we are. Already bigger and better than our first. Last weekend the son used his formula to calculate the weight and told us it was around 90 lbs. It would, of course, be heavier by now. I know his urban pumpkin is bigger but, chin up, we’ll persevere.
While we long ago accepted that we’re not going to end up with a thousand pound pumpkin, (Good Lord what would be do if that happened?) this has been a learning experience for us and, who knows, maybe one day…..
Hmm…I wonder how the son’s urban pumpkin is doing. Perhaps he’ll send a photo for me to share..
Next weekend is Halifax Word on the Street at the Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road; Sept 16th to be exact. Here’s the schedule. I’ll be reading from Cammie Takes Flight at 10:00 in the BMO Community Room. If you’re in the city that weekend and would like to visit the new library, it would be wonderful to look out and see a familiar face. I’ll also be signing at the Nimbus Publishing table, although I’m waiting for confirmation on a time. Less than a week. Time is closing in.
Urban Pumpkin Update:
Since the son just sent a photo of his urban pumpkin the other night, I’m going to tack it onto the end of this post. The estimated weight is 177 lbs. He says it’s three weeks ahead of where his pumpkin was last year this time.
There’s never been a time when I didn’t have a vegetable garden, but this is the first time we’ve attempted a giant pumpkin. Last year, my son grew one in his back yard in Lower Sackville that reached over two hundred pounds. Not bad when you think that he started his plants late and grew them in a planter box. This year he’s vowing to grow a ginormous one and guess what? The contest is now on. Will a rural pumpkin beat out an urban one? I’m not sure. These things are complicated. Used to be you put seeds in the ground and waited for them to come up and keep the weeds pulled. But gardening has suddenly changed now that we’re tending a giant pumpkin. There was the pollination process (covering up blossoms and spreading the pollen) special fertilizers, watering. Now I’m told we need to get it an umbrella so it won’t get sunburned. Won’t get sunburned! Anyway, for the next few months it’s our baby, to have and to hold–luckily no diapers to change, although for some reason that wouldn’t surprise me.
Laura Best 