Gourd almighty, the time has come again.
Motueka’s giant pumpkin competition returns in April 2027, and while co-organiser and defending champion John de Jong understandably won’t divulge his entire growing process, he assures that if aspiring growers want to be a top-seeded entrant they should start now.
“I’ve had my patch ready for three months, and while it’s still a little early to plant [giant pumpkin seedlings], we want people to get enthusiastic and get ready for the season,” he says.
“Prepare your patch now with plenty of organic matter, get mulch ready, and one thing I really want to stress for people that are new to it or want to know more about it is that giantpumpkins.co.nz is the best website.
“It's important to keep weeds away so there's no competition with the plant, an old sheet of plastic or some old carpet from the carpet shop can be put down to suppress the weeds.
“Fertilising is really important because my pumpkin grew a kilo a day last year.”
John’s winning giant pumpkin at April’s weigh-in was 108kg.
For 2027, he and co-organisers Peter Hobson and David Miller want to give a carrot to young growers.
Categories including heaviest pumpkin for under-12s, most artistic, ugliest and perfect shape pumpkin are aimed at younger participants. Previous competitor and Tasman School teacher Cherie Willetts will help distribute giant pumpkin seedlings to local schools.
"She's organised to get seeds from Egmont Seeds, and we've asked The Plant Barn if they're interested in propagating them for us, which they're happy to do," John says.
"You don't have to grow a giant pumpkin to be a winner."
John says giant pumpkin seedlings will also be available through Mitre 10 and should be planted between late October and November.
The weigh-in venue and date are yet to be confirmed. Abel Tasman Sea Shuttles is a major sponsor.
Entry costs $10 and can be paid on weigh-in day.
