Today is the day. The day on which I embark upon my third consecutive year of pumpkin gardening. Admittedly, June 5th is a late start. But it's been a late spring. A cold spring. And I wanted to be sure the threat of frost had truly passed. I take no chances with my pumpkin seeds.
Anyone familiar with the often tragic tale of my pumpkin-growing adventures will recall that the first year was an unmitigated failure. With lovely flowers, but no lovely pumpkins. Zero pumpkins.
Then, last year, in a determined effort to learn from my mistakes, I moved the location of my pumpkin crop from the back yard to the front yard. Where it would have the benefit of more sunshine. And the benefit of an exceptionally warm and sunny summer. The result was seven pumpkins. Seven small pumpkins. But seven pumpkins, nonetheless.
The only drawback to growing pumpkins in the front yard was the way in which those pesky vines tended to grasp anything in their path and not let go. Including the grass on my lawn. I knew that pumpkin vines would spread, but I was taken aback at just how tenaciously they held on to the surrounding vegetation. I had envisioned simply lifting the plants and mowing the grass around them. But no. My pumpkin vines wouldn't hear of it. So the lawn remained unmowed for a few months. I began to develop a reputation in the neighbourhood.
This year, I am employing a third strategy. Hoping for at least the moderate success of last year's crop and a vine-free front lawn, I will be attempting to grow pumpkins vertically. Using my veranda as a support. I am optimistic. I have visions of thick, healthy plants and huge orange gourds gracing my front porch throughout the summer and into the fall. But while I've been assured that vertical pumpkin-growing is indeed possible, I worry that the pumpkins might grow too large and heavy and simply snap off before maturity.
Then again, if the sizes of last year's pumpkins are a reliable predictor of this year's success, I likely have nothing to worry about.