Here’s some inspiration for you: The Idaho state record pumpkin was grown right here in the Snake River Valley. Brian Christiansen of Rexburg nurtured a monster back in 2001 that tipped the scales at 847.5 pounds, and just last fall grew a massive new record gourd that tipped the scales at 1,040 pounds!
Record holders aside, even a “modest” 50 to 70-pound pumpkin can create quite a stir. Big pumpkins like that can grow by accident, but in most cases you have to deliberately set the stage and propagate accordingly. Interested? Granted, you’re going to have to act soon on the advice that follows.
- Soil preparation is crucial. Figure out what your soil conditions are prior to planting. You can either buy your own soil test kit or call on the county Extension to test it for you. Chances are good that the results will require you to amend the soil to give it the proper balance. The key ingredients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—the percentages of which can be found on most fertilizer bags.
- Start with a quality monster seed. Ask the pros at the local garden centers about which seeds to try. Major seed labels are a fair way to go, but you may also be able to find seeds that are specific to our climate, which is a huge advantage.
Get a jump on the season. You may do just fine by direct planting later this spring, but there is an obvious time advantage to starting the seed indoors well ahead (two to three weeks) of the last frost date. Plant the seed about an inch down in a large Jiffy pot and keep the pot in a warm, sunny location after it germinates.
Growing any kind of pumpkin takes a fair amount of space (about eight square feet per plant) and a lot of extra attention to do it right. But the rewards are well worth the toil and trouble, and there’s no better way to liven up the slumbering garden of fall than to watch a mammoth pumpkin packing on the pounds and delighting all who see it.