Horrendous rain on Friday & Sunday, but dry on Saturday so I spent a satisfying hour at the Hill.
On my List was:
- pick Bag End pumpkin & clear patch
- make good the bed & plant onion sets ('shakespear' bought from the Kings Heath show a few weeks ago
- indicate competition pumpkin so that kind Jason (behind retired Maureen) & John Badger (from the bottom) can take it up for weighing as I won't be present
- clear more ripe beans for drying at home
I suspect that it was no coincidence that there was both no one else at the Hill & I made swift progress - I completed my List within the hour.
I also picked a few more courgette (including a big beggar which I had clearly missed last time round, & maybe the time before that too), & the head off Ollie's sunflower so I can save the seeds for next year.
Back home, I weighed the Bag End pumpkin (18lb) & measured its circumference at 37" - & at that size I need to think about what it will be used for, apart from being a convenient prop with which Oliver can play a convincing game of Being Witch's Cat.Mind you, if I think that finding a use for the Bag End pumpkin is tricky, I'm really going to be taxed by the huge competition pumpkin which will go up for weighing this weekend...
Never got around to doing pumpkins this year - too busy growing and tasting purple mangetout!
ReplyDeleteI do love spicy pumpkin soup though.
That cat and that pumpkin - they were meant for each other!
WOW - that is some pumpkin! Yours has definitely ripened better than mine and I am very impressed by the weight - must put mine on the scales and see how I've done.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to save some sunflower seeds, the blue tits and great tits have been allowed to have the majority of ours.
Hey Hazel your pumpkin weighed in at an almighty 50.5lb!! however it was beaten by Allan Redfern. Im not sure of the final weights and results as yet.
ReplyDeleteta
jody
PS.. Ive enlisted a friend to help me on the plot as Ive been struggling of late to get there so if you see a random guy on my plot his name is Shaun and he's very keen to learn, say hi!
ReplyDeletejody
There was a pumpkin grown in Lymington Hants this year that weighed over 1500lbs!!!
ReplyDeleteall that in an hour? you dynamo you!
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten that Oliver was like Mikey. A beautiful feline model always makes the veg look better :)
Super pumpkin! What did you do with it in the end?
ReplyDeleteThe cat posed deliberately, Flum! I've been watching your pea experiment with much interest - you do know that I will be in the queue for seed once you have a stabilised strain that you are happy with, don't you?
ReplyDeleteDid you weigh your pumpkin, Bilbo? Truth be told, I'd prefer a greater quantity of fruit per plant than just the one biggie - but I might change my mind once I've tasted it!
You're a star for taking the pumpkin for weighing, Jody - it was a close fought competition, looking at the results. Shaun & industrial offspring were at the Hill yesterday, according to my spies - those three new beds are the business!
I would be very unpopular with the guys who kindly took my pumpkin up for weighing if I grew such a monster, Matron!
Amazing what you can get done if you aren't yakking, Nic! Oli is beautiful, but my photography skills are not up to making much other than a black blob of his handsomeness!
Hi Olly, good to see you - the competition pumpkin went off with Jody to be carved at a local nursery, and the orange one is in the mini greenhouse awaiting culinary attention!
Hazel, mine are sitting in the kitchen waiting to be weighed and measured. I agree with you - I would prefer 6 medium ones to the three giants I have, much easier to use up.
ReplyDeleteYou are on my hit list for testing the peas already Hazel!
ReplyDeletehey Hazel I have a pic of the kids with your pumpkin at the nursery but its hard copy, ill scan it in and send it to you for your blog
ReplyDeletesee you soon, if the weather stops acting up!
Can't wait, Jody! :)
ReplyDeleteJust getting above freezing at some point would be nice...!