There’s a funny story behind this Pumpkin. Firstly, I’ve no idea what variety it is. I’m guessing it’s a Jack be Little or other small Pumpkin variety. The reason I don’t know is that it sprouted from a seed that was in my compost bin. When I emptied the compost out last Autumn I noticed that there were some Pumpkin (or possibly Courgette) seed in it, but didn’t think anything of it.
Then come Spring some of them started to germinate! I chose the strongest one and re-planted it in full sun on the other side of the garden. It flourished and became a large plant in no time at all. Then it flowered and set fruit. The only problem was I had no idea if it was a Pumpkin or a round Courgette at first. I almost picked it when it was small and green. But I decided to leave it just in case and I’m so happy I did.
Pretty soon it started to harden and turn orange. At this rate I think it will be ready in time to carve for Halloween. Yey!
I love it when you get something unexpected from the garden. Every year I end up growing something that I never intended to. And that’s part of the joy of owning a garden – you’re never quite fully in charge :) What did you grow this year that you didn’t intend to?
A couple of weeks ago my Ghost Rider Pumpkin looked like this. It was fully green and unripe.
Now it’s ripening well. However, the frosts are just around the corner and I’m worried it won’t fully ripen in time for Halloween (there’s still a patch of green on one side). The plant itself is dying off which means that its ripen power is waning. If a frost comes it will knock the plant back even further.
My Pumpkin is in the sunny part of the garden that still gets a lot of Autumn sun. But I’ve also tactfully removed some of the leaves that were shading the it. And rotated it so that the greenest part is facing the sun. Bottom line, I’ve done everything I can do to get it to perfection for the 31st. And I’m sure it will get there.
But… if yours is still green – you can’t eat unripe Pumpkins but you can carve them. Who can tell if the Pumpkin is green or orange when it’s dark?
So I have to admit our neighbours were fantastic at freezing our Raspberries for us while we were away. Full marks for that. They weren’t, however, quite so good at watering plants – infact I’m forced to give a ‘nil point’ Eurovision style, since one of my plants actually died from lack of water. Which one? Only my beloved Turk’s Turban Pumpkin!
Okay, okay so it only actually had one Pumpkin growing on it. And admittedly that one was very small. But still, the Pumpkin! When I saw its withered frame and tiny, vulnerable, perfectly formed Pumpkin, cruelly stopped in its tracked… well, I was sad. Especially, since last year’s were so massive.
Someone, however, was over the moon when he saw it. A mini Pumpkin, just for me? You really shouldn’t have. What a perfect size for little fingers. Clearly, it’s mine and will forever be so.
What’s a mum to do? I guess I’ll just wait until he’s gone to bed and then hide it away for my Autumn table display. Shuush… he’ll never know.
