Category Archives: pumpkins

A Pumpkins We-Will-Grow

Pumpkin seedling staying warm in the straw

That was easy!

The pumpkins are in. They’re lush, plentiful and thriving. In case you’re wondering about my mad gardening skills, you can sum them up in one word: compost.

I didn’t add compost to make them grow; instead they grew in the compost. I’m new to composting, and like any convert, I can’t say enough about the process (fun) and the end results (see photos, below).

When my nifty, thrifty, spinning composter reached capacity, I searched for alternatives. I re-purposed an old Rubbermaid bin, once used for children’s toys. I tossed in the straw left over from our Halloween party, then dry leaves, grass clippings and kitchen waste. I popped on the lid, drilled holes in the bottom for air circulation and drainage, and called it a day. Turning the compost was the biggest challenge. It was hard to get leverage in a narrow, small bin but I managed. About a month ago, I removed the lid and saw this: tiny pumpkin sprouts. Awe-some!!!

Pumpkin Seedling

Figuring I would transplant the seedlings when the weather warmed up, I simply returned the lid. I left it open just a crack for more light.

Then this happened:

Rich compost = happy pumpkins!

Out of the compost and into the planting bed

Success! Pumpkins thrive in raised bed

Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with all those pumpkin seeds I saved from last year! Any takers?

Have you found any surprises in your garden this year?

Happy Halloween!!!

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Our temperatures finally dropped to a cool 60 degrees ( 16 C), and the skies are cloudy and menacing. The changes in weather lend an air of authenticity to All Hallows’ Eve. I’m happy for it.

If you celebrate Halloween, I wish you a happy haunting, sumptuous (zero-calorie) goodies, and spooky Jack o’ lantern to light the way.

I’ve had great fun growing, harvesting and displaying our pumpkins. It’s been interesting peering inside the pumpkins that grew all summer long. I enjoy seeing what’s been growing inside. One set of seeds has an orange/brown tinge with a white stripe around the edges. The others are white, but vary in size. It’s also been interesting to see the undeveloped seeds. They’re pale and thin, instead of plump like the others.

I’ve enjoyed counting down with you throughout the month. In case you missed a few, here is the entire collection. Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkins with Personality: Jack O’Lantern’s

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Carving pumpkins has been slow-going today. The best laid plans of mice and men. Our resident carver is also the chief technology officer around here, so he’s been trouble shooting internet problems all day. We had a power outage this morning, followed by two internet fails. The horrors!

After much research and a few choice words for Comcast, we are up and running…temporarily. He’s back to carving and I’m keyboarding as fast as I can before the internet connection hiccups again.

First up, Mike’s carving the outline of a Halloween greeting card, one we sent to family down south. He photocopied the die cut card, then enlarged it into a template. I don’t know where he gets the patience.

Here’s an example of my carving skills. I’m afraid of sharp knives and I lack the patience. What I wanted to do was create a tiny fairy garden in the center of this pumpkin, but since it will rot in a few days, I settled for this corny little thing. It’s back-lit with an upended, battery-operated tea light. (Mike’s so clever).

A circle, a toothpick and a paper cat.

Enough said.

My younger son carved one of the leftover mini pumpkins from our weekend party. Isn’t it cute?

It’s 10:30 at night, so the rest of the carving will have to wait till tomorrow. How about you? Are you ready for Halloween?

Flight 1031

Halloween Countdown

Snail Hotel Pumpkin

I will be sad to say goodbye to the Snail Hotel. Those snails did an impressive job “carving” both the front and VIP entrance. They left town at the first sign of rain. Although the stem fell off when I brought it indoors, I was impressed with the way this pumpkin held together. These seeds are definitely going into the Seed Keeper for next year.

Pumpkins to Jack O’Lanterns

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Tomorrow’s the big day. My husband, Mike, our resident pumpkin carver is taking the afternoon off to create magic. By noon he’ll be up to his elbows in pumpkin flesh, meticulously carving Jack O’Lanterns for Halloween. He has his work cut out for him. We had an impressive harvest this year, ten pumpkins in all. I love the way the house smells once he guts the pumpkins. It takes me back to the excitement of my childhood Halloween.

Our 4 Great Pumpkins

Each year Mike carves a few of his past favorites, in addition to trying something new. Last year he carved a few small pumpkins to look like computer emoticons. They were so unexpected. When my son was small, he asked his dad to carve Max, the bunny from Rosemary Wells Max and Ruby series. He pulled it off beautifully.

Max and Ruby Pumpkin

One of his personal favorites is Deadly Diva. She gets plenty of comments from passersby, so he’s carved her more than once.

Deadly Diva, a favorite since 2006

Halloween is a big deal on our suburban block. We average 150 children at our door. I’m on my feet for nearly three hours non-stop handing out candy. My youngest son heads out with his dad and some friends for his own candy haul. It’s a night of mystery and fun, followed by the realities of a regular school and work day. Just like Cinderella, we all turned back into mortals by November 1^st.

Cat Pumpkin

The After Pumpkin

While Mike is carving, I gather and rinse the seeds, then spread them out on wax paper to dry. I store them in a labeled lunch bag for planting the following year. We roasted pumpkin seeds in the oven as kids, but for some reason that tradition didn’t survive. We have more fun planting the seeds the following year.

Now that my compost bins are under way, I’ll be able to turn the discarded rinds into rich compost for next year. You’ve gotta love the cycle of life.

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.

~The Quote Garden, Author Unknown

Halloween Countdown

Costume Accessories Pumpkin

Snail Hotel: Hole in One

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Belly up to the bar

A clever and voracious garden snail found a soft spot in one of our pumpkins. He/she went on a pumpkin bender a few nights ago, slurping an impressive, though disappointing hole in one…pumpkin that is.

Now that they’ve breached the shell , decay will quickly set in. Add to that our spiking temperatures (yet again in the eighties!) and we’ll have a sloppy, slushy, pumpkin mess before week’s end. Taking inspiration from my friend Sheila, I converted the lost pumpkin into a snail hotel. I love my Sharpie’s! I love my pumpkins too, but the damage is done. In addition to counting down to Halloween, I’ll now be counting the days till the Snail Hotel is officially condemned.

You can check in any time you like…

Snail Hotel: Mollusks Welcome

Stay tuned!

Halloween Countdown

Pirate Pumpkin
Shiver me Pumpkin Ribs

Savoring the Flavoring of Pumpkin

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Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie
photo credit: Deborah DeLong

I love growing things that we can also eat, but I’m not much of a cook. I *can* cook. It just doesn’t hold my interest. Luckily for me I married a man who knows his way around the kitchen.

During the holidays, I get to fuss over the table settings while he stays busy in the kitchen. I love arranging flowers, making place cards, lighting candles, and seeing that our guests feel at home.

Our Canadian friends celebrate their Thanksgiving holiday this Monday, October 8th. In the US, we celebrate the third Thursday of November, so still plenty of planning weeks ahead.

Sweet pumpkin pie is a traditional favorite, but not everyone likes the texture. I’ve found a few interesting alternatives to try this year. I’ll be running them by the resident chef to see what he thinks. I wanted to share them with you, too. Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe of your own? Please let us know in the comments, below.

Pumpkin Desserts

Honey Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

Deborah, at Romancing the Bee shared a recipe for this sweet sensation last week. She says it’s quick and easy, and judging by the ingredients, it will go down as smooth as honey.

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

I can almost smell the allspice just looking at the photo. These seasonal goodies would be a hit at the office potluck or tucked into a tin as a hostess gift.

Pumpkin Carrot Swirl Bars

You can never have too much orange. These tasty treats combine pumpkins and carrots for a vitamin-rich dessert. This is a great make-ahead recipe and a fun treat to pack in a school lunch.

Halloween Countdown

Masked Pumpkin

Happy Thanksgiving Day to my Canadian family and friends.

Pumpkins: Just the Facts, Ma’am

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Pumpkins are so entrenched in our North American culture this time of year, that it’s easy to forget they’re not equally popular the world over. They’re native to Central America and Mexico, but they’ve been grown in North America for five thousand years.

Bob’s Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

Pilgrims learned to cultivate, grow and store pumpkins from the Native Americans. Without them, they would have starved in those early 1600s winters. Pumpkin pie is traditionally served at the Thanksgiving meal. It’s easy to forget what a significant role it played in the early Pilgrim’s lives.

Thanksgiving flower arrangement

We have a number of pumpkin festivals and pumpkin “patches” in our community. We attended many of them when our boys were young, and were sorry when a few closed to make room for development.

The immensely popular Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, dubbed the World Pumpkin Capital celebrates 42 years in 2012. The festival highlight for those of us serious about pumpkins, is the great pumpkin weigh-off. Last year’s winning pumpkin tipped the scales at a mind-boggling 1,704 pounds. Unfortunately, the festival has grown so popular that it can take upwards of an hour to get to the center of town. We joined friends for an off weekend last year, so we could drive through Half Moon Bay and along the beautiful coast, while avoiding the traffic nightmare.

Lifting Weights at Bob’s Pumpkin Farm

I dream of growing our own “Atlantic Giant,” out back, but lack the stamina and will power of the serious growers. It’s fun to read about the efforts the hard-core growers employ, and to see the amazing results. It was quite the thrill growing a 62 pound beauty this year.

I can’t wait to see what the seeds and flesh are like inside. My husband lovingly carves our pumpkins year after year. We dry and store seeds for the following season and the cycle begins anew.

2011 Pumpkin Crop

Pumpkin Facts

Pumpkins are a member of the gourd family, which includes cucumbers, honeydew melons, cantaloupe, watermelons and zucchini.
The largest pumpkin pie ever baked was in 2005 and weighed 2,020 pounds.
In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding “gros melons.” The name was translated into English as “pompions,” which has since evolved into the modern “pumpkin.”
Pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, protein, and iron.
The heaviest pumpkin weighed 1,810 lb 8 oz and was presented by Chris Stevens at the Stillwater Harvest Fest in Stillwater, Minnesota, in October 2010.
Pumpkin seeds should be planted between the last week of May and the middle of June. They take between 90 and 120 days to grow and are picked in October when they are bright orange in color. Their seeds can be saved to grow new pumpkins the next year.

U.S. Census Bureau and the Guinness Book of World Records

Resources:

Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival
All About Pumpkins (History)
Pumpkin Facts
The Charles Schultz Classic, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, premiered 45 years ago.
Our own pumpkins over the years

Halloween Countdown

Pumpkins and Flowers

Blooming Thursday: Last Call

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Anemones

The party is over. We’ve had a good run. The last of the anemones are finally winding down, with just a few new blooms here and there.

A few remaining blooms

We’ve enjoyed eight weeks of snow-white blossoms meandering along the back fence. The anemones appeared at our dinner table, at my book club and in several gardeningnirvana posts.They helped soften the departure of the summer cosmos.They’ve continued to bloom into early fall, waiting for autumn color to set in before making a quiet retreat. In a few more weeks the plants will blend in with the other greenery, and if it gets cold enough, they’ll go dormant. See you next summer!

What do you mean, the party is over?

Spent and dying blooms

Watercolor Edges

Birdhouse Gourd

Birdhouse Gorgeous 10/5/12

I’ve decided to rename the gourd below, “birdhouse gorgeous.” I’m stunned at the rapid acceleration in the past ten days. Count me grateful, too, that it’s growing off to the side of the trellis or I would have hit my head on it by now.

Birdhouse Gorgeous 9/6/12

Halloween Countdown

Warm and toasty pumpkins
Handmade scarf by Mary Ann Askins

Haunting in the Fairy Garden

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It was a dark and stormy night in the garden. Strong winds whistled through the stark, barren trees. Lightning split the blackened skies as thunder rumbled like an angry troll. Tiny fairies scaled the tall pumpkins, stumbling upon a petrified fallen log nestled at the base of the pumpkin’s stem. Out of nowhere, a tall ladder appeared reaching skyward.

…stumbling upon a fallen log.

A large, white cat mewed at the base of the decaying stump, reminding them that they must trudge on. They climbed the ladder slowly, chin to chest, to avoid the fierce and brutal wind. Reaching the top, the fairies emerged in a magical forest where homes were made from stickers and tiny cats were one-dimensional.

Halloween Fairy Garden

Frolicking cats

They stumbled along a grey stone pathway littered with fallen leaves leading to a house. Larger than life tombstones stood at an odd angle nearby. Were they imagining things or was that really a ghost? If you’re a fairy meandering through a forest on a dark and stormy night, it’s easy to let your imagination get away from you. It’s probably just a balloon stuck in a tree.

Going up?

Suddenly, someone yelled “surprise!!!” it’s almost Halloween!

Only wonderful things happen in fairy gardens, and this was no exception. Purple flowers bloomed in the nearby forest. Cool, green baby tears lined the forest floor. Resident cats, Petals and Blossum frolicked in the tall grass. A Pyjama Gardener cut flowers for the party table nearby. The fairies stayed to help decorate. We’ll see what they are up to tomorrow.

Halloween Countdown:

I’m so happy!

My Beautiful Garden Bench

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Our growing collection of pumpkins
(Note the tiny ones at the top. They didn’t turn orange in time, but will make excellent “eye balls” for one of the Jack ‘O Lanterns on Halloween.)

I attended the SummerWinds Nursery fire sale last week, and brought home a beautiful, forged-iron bench. Made in Mexico, it features scroll work along the back and a heart-shaped seat. I’m organized at heart, so it was impossible to resist.

My son was with me at the time, and looked askance at the cold, hard bench. I assured him that I had something else in mind, and it didn’t include seating. Under typical circumstances, I would admire the bench, dream of all the things I could do with it, then move on. It seemed extravagant to buy such a pretty bench as a plant stand.

We walked around the nursery parking lot, looked at what little remained at the fire sale, then worked our way back to the bench. The one-of-a-kind lovely was still there, with a fire sale price of 30% off. Further, 10% of the proceeds would benefit the San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation. We paid for our purchases and into the car it went.

Coincidentally, we harvested our great pumpkins that same evening, I brought home the perfect seat for our pumpkins. Once harvested and weighed on the Wii Fit, I relocated my beloved coleus to the back porch, creating a place of honor for our great pumpkins. You can view the pumpkins seated on the bench from the street. It will be the perfect place for the Jack O’ Lanterns once carved.

Today we harvested the last five pumpkins, making room for the winter garden. My seeds are calling me. Time to get busy!

Go to the SummerWinds Almaden Nursery Facebook Page for updates on sales and plans to rebuild.