Windsor Community Garden 2024 Pumpkin Contest

Eligibility:
Pumpkin must be grown in Windsor, VT

Which of us hasn’t marveled at the behemoths in the pumpkin patch? As our summers grow longer and hotter, they’ll get extra time to plump up. How big can pumpkins grow? The current record-holder, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, weighs 2,702 lbs.

We want to see how large pumpkins grown in Windsor, Vermont can grow. Which of our pumpkins will win the blue ribbon? Categories include: heaviest, prettiest, strangest, and pumpkins that outweigh their growers. Winning entries will be displayed in public through October, then turned into Jack-o-Lanterns.

Pumpkin Contest Rules

Eligibility: Must be grown in Windsor, Vt.
Entry Deadline: September 23, 2024
Seeds: Use your own, or seeds are available at the Windsor, VT Public Library free, while quantities last

Questions: windsorcommunitygardenvt@gmail.com

What’s the secret to growing a prize-winning pumpkin?
1. Seeds 
2. Water
3. Regular fertilizing
4. Lots of sun
5. Time

Some seeds are known ‘giant’ producers. Those include:

• “Atlantic Giant” (burpee.com)
• “Dill’s Atlantic Giant PVP” (SeedsNSuch.com)
• “Big Moose” (TerritorialSeed.com)
• “Big Max” – free at the Windsor, VT Public Library (while supplies last) and at (rareseeds.com)

Here are our deep secrets for growing a mammoth pumpkin:

1. Start with two, three, or more pumpkin seedlings growing in the same mound. 
2. As they grow, pick off all but the best plant and fertilize it at least once a week.
3. When wee little pumpkins start forming in early summer, keep the biggest one, but snip off all the rest. That way, all the soil’s nutrients will feed straight into that single pumpkin. 
4. Rearrange its position every few weeks to prevent one side from getting flat.
5. When it reaches full growth in late August or early September, cut it off its vine, leaving part of the stem still attached, and let it sit a few days in the soil until the skin hardens. 
6. Does it look like a winner? Enter it in the contest by the September 23 deadline. Email us at WindsorCommunityGardenVT@gmail.com or call and leave a message at  (802)-674-2332 to enter.