If you plant a seed for a giant pumpkin by the end of May, you could have a jack-o’-lantern this Halloween weighing hundreds of pounds.
Pumpkins may be the highest-profile giant vegetable in Maine, with an annual festival dedicated to them in Damariscotta, but growers have had success with huge carrots, cabbage and kohlrabi here, among other varieties. Tending to the needs of such an unusual plant can also sharpen up your general gardening skills.
That was the case for Sarah Whitty, a Veazie giant vegetable gardener and the president of the Maine Pumpkin Growers Organization. She creates educational videos for beginners on her YouTube channel “Pumpkinista” and has been growing giant pumpkins for more than a decade. In recent seasons, several have grown to be more than 1,400 pounds.
“We’re competitive, but it’s unbelievable how generous the community is,” she said. “Now it’s my whole life.”
Plants in the squash family can grow particularly large, which makes them appealing choices to gardeners interested in dramatic vegetables — whether as a serious competitor or just for fun. Whitty has had success with giant pumpkins, green squash, long gourds and marrow, a large relative of the zucchini.
Last year, she set the state record for giant marrows with a 60.5-pound specimen.
It’s possible to put a lot of time and research into pumpkin-raising, but a beginner following simple steps can still get several hundred pounds out of their first try. Giant pumpkin seeds are available from most seed companies — look for the Atlantic Giant variety. If you know someone who grows them and would part with a seed, you’ll likely get the best genetics, Whitty said.
You can subscribe to the Maine Pumpkin Growers Organization for an annual mailing of champion seeds by April 1. Whitty also sells her own seeds with champion genetics.
You can start the seeds inside in whatever container you have; begin with several so that you have backups. Whitty likes to use a nail file to thin out the seed casing, which can be so thick the seedling struggles to pop free otherwise. The seedling will grow quickly once it sprouts in a few days. Pumpkins have no frost tolerance, so make sure that danger is past before putting it outside.
One of the biggest mistakes beginning growers make is underestimating how much space the plant will need. At minimum, set aside 150 square feet, Whitty said.
A bag or compost or manure mixed with the soil where you plant should set the seedling up for success, with all-purpose fertilizer watered in weekly or a few times a month. Maine’s clay soils tend to hold water well, but if there isn’t much rain, water to the point where your soil looks wet but isn’t collecting puddles.
Small seedlings can fall victim to cucumber beetles, squash bugs, deer, groundhogs and rodents. In the early days, some growers protect their seedlings with row cover fabric.
When the plant starts to flower, you don’t have to pinch any off; Whitty recommends leaving them as a backup.
Pumpkin growers do trim the tertiary vines off the main and secondary vines so that the plant focuses its energy on the fruit. If you’re growing for fun, Whitty said, you can just chop them when they start to expand out past your growing space.
“You can eat them, but I wouldn’t do it unless I was starving,” Whitty said.
She does grow other vegetables to eat, and said putting the effort into researching and caring for the prize-winning varieties has made her a much better gardener.
Growing a giant vegetable also tests the limits of nature, she said. Like watching a gymnast perform physical feats testing human ability, seeing a pumpkin gain 50 pounds a day is a fascinating opportunity to think about what plants are capable of.
Plus, she said, it just makes people happy.
“When I drive around with a pumpkin in my truck, I’ve never not seen people not smile,” Whitty said.
