Movie "Bill´s Big Pumpkins"

[ficuscarica]

In the last weeks I have become a big fan of pumpkin-growing. I found this cool documentary about growing big pumpkins on youtube.
Have fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voJ26...eature=related

[Albion]

Yeah, I become fascinated with things too. I think it's a part of my personality, I become an expert on things that interest me.

Pumpkins seem like a fun crop to grow but I wouldn't have a use for them apart from selling them for halloween lanterns.
I like the idea of growing melons though. They're distantly related to pumpkins, squashes and cucumbers. The only ones that grow reliably in Britain are Cantaloups. Other varieties are can be grown in a greenhouse and Cantaloups are best in a greenhouse outside of Southern England too.
The French and have a few good varieties and seem to have been growing them for a long time. 'charentais' is considered the best variety for the UK and I plan on growing it next year.
My only concern is whether we have a hot summer and not another rainy one like this year. I might put it in a greenhouse or cold frame depending on what next year's weather is like. If it's a nice summer then it'll just grow against a hot wall.







We need to keep pushing the boundaries of crops and developing varieties that will suit a range of different environments.
Some things such as apples evolve rapidly and so have adapted easily whereas other things take more effort.

[ficuscarica]

Cool posting Albion, I can totally relate with what you write about being fascinated by all kinds of stuff and becoming an expert. Especially productive gardening has a great potential to turn into one´s hobby/fascination. From my Christian point of view I don´t find it surprising, as it was one of man´s main and original tasks to cultivate the earth.

I´d much rather be a peasant with a normal income than a rich person who spends most of his day in an office or an industrial complex. Being in contact with nature, producing your own food - divine.


Have you ever tried pumpkin soup? There are some great pumpkin varieties with a delicious taste. Of course a 500 pounder won´t be the best tasting food you can get, but Muscade de Provence for instance is a great, tasty variety.
I probably wouldn´t invest days just to get a 500lbs pumpkin, but planting some Atlantic Giants and harvesting 3 or 4 200lbs pumpkins sounds like fun. As you said you can sell them or make your own "carvings" and use them for decoration or give them aways as presents.

Melons grow pretty well here, but if I had to find a simple way to make sure I get ripe ones, I would simply take a couple of stones, put an old window on them, and let the melons grow under it. A greenhouse doesn´t seem necessary for a plant that grows that flatly.

[Albion]

Cool posting Albion, I can totally relate with what you write about being fascinated by all kinds of stuff and becoming an expert. Especially productive gardening has a great potential to turn into one´s hobby/fascination. From my Christian point of view I don´t find it surprising, as it was one of man´s main and original tasks to cultivate the earth.

With me it's about making a perfect habitat for myself. I suppose humans are like beavers in the sense that we partially construct our habitats.
I'm interested in crops more than flowers and non-fruiting trees. However I have started to grow some flowers recently to brighten the place up a bit and to feed the pollinating insects. It's a bit naive to expect bees to visit fruit trees if there's nothing for them after spring. The areas unsuitable for crops are good for flowers anyway.

I´d much rather be a peasant with a normal income than a rich person who spends most of his day in an office or an industrial complex. Being in contact with nature, producing your own food - divine.

Yes, same here. There's not much point to wealth if your life has to suck to acquire it.
Ideally I'd like to live in a cabin in the woods. It'd have a little clearing for some vegetables and soft fruits and there'd be an area of all different fruit trees. Not much impact upon nature, really not much more than a forest glade or meadow within a woodland.

Alas, we must do what society expects of us though. Can you imagine trying to convince a girlfriend to join your simple life in the woods or raising a family there? It just wouldn't happen (partly because women are too materialistic for a start).
Also there'd be the practicalities of it. You'd first have to buy land (which costs a lot) and a cabin and get permission to put it in the woods (which would likely be refused) and then you'd have to pay council tax (in the UK anyway). So in the UK at least you'd have to have a proper income from something else (such as a job) to do it. It kind of defeats the purpose of it, but at least you'd have nice weekends I suppose.

Have you ever tried pumpkin soup?

No. I've not eaten much made from pumpkins actually.

There are some great pumpkin varieties with a delicious taste. Of course a 500 pounder won´t be the best tasting food you can get, but Muscade de Provence for instance is a great, tasty variety.
I probably wouldn´t invest days just to get a 500lbs pumpkin, but planting some Atlantic Giants and harvesting 3 or 4 200lbs pumpkins sounds like fun. As you said you can sell them or make your own "carvings" and use them for decoration or give them aways as presents.

I've heard they taste rubbish raw, they're only really used in cooking. I'm not much of a cook though. I would perhaps grow them just for the novelty of it.
That's originally why I bought a fig plant, but I became quite interested with them after a while.

Melons grow pretty well here, but if I had to find a simple way to make sure I get ripe ones, I would simply take a couple of stones, put an old window on them, and let the melons grow under it. A greenhouse doesn´t seem necessary for a plant that grows that flatly.

That's a good idea but I don't have any old windows. I could probably make a cold frame out of some clear plastic sheeting and some old wood. I still want to buy a greenhouse next year though. I want the grape vine growing up one side of it, the figs in a corner, melons along the ground (and on a black fabric sheets) and some tomatoes and other stuff growing in there too.

Next year I'm probably going to sacrifice some of the lawn for a proper vegetable patch too. Potatoes, carrots, lettuces and tomatoes are what I want to grow in it initially. There'd be a few other things, but they'd take up most of it.
I've found that tomatoes ripen fine outdoors even in this sad excuse for a summer. They can take a bit longer but they have a good taste and seem to do fine. I'll grow them in the ground next year - less hassle than in pots.



I can get some plastic sheeting a bit like this and knock together a proper wooden frame (not plastic poles like this which will break in the wind).
It's a windy country so these plastic ones usually end up in someone else's garden during the spring gales (it's usually windy in early spring, sometimes trees come down).

[arcticwolf]

I have only one question, what are you going to do with all the pumpkins you grow? I know they are bio degradable but still, what are your intentions towards innocent pumpkins?

[Albion]

I have only one question, what are you going to do with all the pumpkins you grow? I know they are bio degradable but still, what are your intentions towards innocent pumpkins?

Sell them to people at halloween.

[ficuscarica]

I wrote a really long answer, but my retarted computer deleted it. At the moment I can´t motivate myself to write everything again.