Islanders invited to learn tips and tricks for growing giant pumpkins
P.E.I.'s champion giant pumpkin grower is hosting a workshop Wednesday evening
Prince Edward Islanders looking to try their hand at growing giant pumpkins will have the chance to learn from the best this Wednesday evening.
Mark Tremere, P.E.I.'s reigning champion giant pumpkin grower, is hosting a workshop at the York Community Centre, where he'll share his top tips and tricks for cultivating colossal gourds.
Tremere said the Island has a small but dedicated community of competitive growers.
"Worldwide, there's quite a few competitive growers going for their world record, but in P.E.I. we might have 10 to 15 tops," he told CBC's Island Morning.
"I'd love to see more people. That's the goal."
The current world record for the heaviest pumpkin is 1,243 kilograms (2,741 pounds), grown over six months by Guinness World Record holder Travis Gienger in Minnesota.
As for Tremere, he won top prizes in the pumpkin and squash categories at last year's P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-off.
The Marshfield, P.E.I., grower took home $750 for his 668-kilogram (1,473.5-pound) pumpkin and another $200 for his first-place squash, which weighed in at 361 kilograms (796.6 pounds).
Growing giants: Where to start
At the workshop, Tremere will cover everything from seed selection and germination to soil preparation and growing techniques.
He said starting with high-quality seeds is key to growing giant pumpkins and squash.
He has seeds from his prize-winning pumpkin and said members of the P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin Growers Association also have high-quality seeds they're hoping to distribute across the Island to encourage more people to take up the hobby.
"If you're going to start out, you may as well start out with a good start of genetics, so something we have would definitely grow something up around 2,000 pounds potentially."
Beyond seeds, he will walk attendees through critical steps like soil testing and seed preparation tricks, like sanding the edges of the seed to speed up germination.
For his own pumpkins, Tremere plans to plant the seeds in mid-May, so he will need to create an optimal growing environment for them to grow.
"I'll have a hoop house up, probably heating cables in the ground to warm up the soil, and probably a heater inside of a cold frame mini greenhouse to bring that up to temperature and trick it into thinking it's mid-June to end of June," he said.
"I push that along and hopefully have a pollination by mid-June."
While the initial setup requires some investment, he said it becomes more affordable over time.
"Over the years, you kind of pick up the cables and build the hoop house. You already have a heater. So slowly but surely, you pick up the tools and the trade and away you go."
Tremere usually focuses on one or two pumpkins early on and then makes a decision by July on which one to nurture to the finish line.
He said the sharing of group wisdom is crucial when it comes to growing giant pumpkins.
"It's great to have a community. That's what's really brought it up to the weights that they are now — the internet, I think, and communication and networking, people using their knowledge and sharing it with everybody."
With files from Island Morning