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A giant pumpkin starts with a small seed and plenty of attention

On Monday, Bryan Sloat carefully planted four “giant pumpkin” seedlings in specially prepared loamy soil near Swan Lake in Saanich. They’re pint-sized now, but with any luck, by fall they’ll be whoppers.

On Monday, Bryan Sloat carefully planted four “giant pumpkin” seedlings in specially prepared loamy soil near Swan Lake in Saanich.

They’re pint-sized now, but with any luck, by fall they’ll be whoppers.

The pace that pumpkins grow is a marvel to Sloat, who compares them to something prehistoric.

Their daily growth is noticeable — some put on many pounds each day. “It’s almost like a slow version of Jack and the Beanstalk.”

Sloat likes to get his pumpkins in the ground by the first week of June. A month later, the main vine might reach six metres, he said.

Sloat has been growing giant pumpkins for 20 years — last year, he grew a 680-kilogram (1,500-pound) monster that was carved into the demented face of Chucky, the spooky character that lived inside in a doll in the Child’s Play movies. Chucky was positioned by Sloat’s front door.

He has 10 giant pumpkin plants on the go, but plans to give away six.

Sloat’s technique starts with saving seeds from his own pumpkins. (You can also buy seeds or purchase seedlings from a garden centre.)

Then he saves grass clippings in a large pile and lets them compost over the winter. He uses a garden tiller to mix that into his plots — one 7.5 by 7.5 metres, the other six by six metres — saving the dark, tar-like stuff for the spot where the plant goes in. He also puts compost down along the route the main vine will run.

Next comes purchased soil including fishy bits, available at some garden outlets. Sloat buys one or two yards and tills that into the plots as well.

Each planting hole gets plant fertilizer under a layer of soil. “Then I put the plant on it so the main vine is going one way,” he said. “Try not to pat it down too much.”

It’s important to keep the soil draining and loamy so water is not retained because that could rot the plant, he said.

In mid-March, Sloat filed the edges off his seeds to encourage them to split open more easily. He first boiled water and let it sit overnight before soaking the seeds to start germination.

As the seedlings get started indoors, a bright light shines on the young plants at night. During the day, they go outside with the lid on to create a mini-hothouse.

Once the seedlings are in the ground, Sloat protects the plants with large clear plastic storage boxes, placed upside down. Rocks or bricks are placed under the rim to let air in. A brick goes on top to weigh the box down and protect it from large animals.

As time passes, he builds a little hothouse out of PVC pipe and a material used in greenhouses.

When the pumpkins get large, he protects them with tents. Too much sun hardens the pumpkins and slows growth, he said.

It’s important to locate the young plants at one end of a plot, orienting them so the main vine will run down the middle.

Side vines can be trained at a 90-degree angle from the main vine. Vines off the side vines can be removed.

The aim is for the female flower (the one that produces a pumpkin) to be at least 4.75 metres from the main root. He said he buries the vines, so they put out roots and bring in more water.

Once flowers appear, it’s time for pumpkin romance. He goes out early in the morning, takes a male flower and rubs its pollen-covered stamen onto the stigma in the centre of an open female flower. Female flowers have a small rounded bump at their base — that’s the part that will grow into a pumpkin.

Sloat uses a homemade tool to keep the lots clear of weeds, which can hold in moisture and block proper drainage. To encourage growth, he uses a spray-on mixture of plant fertilizer, water, powdered greens and fish emulsion, purchased locally.

And then he waits.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com

TRY THIS AT HOME

We will follow Bryan Sloat’s giant pumpkins throughout the season — providing periodic updates on their progress for our Sunday Islander section. We hope readers will be inspired to follow suit and share photographs of their own giant pumpkins. Send photos to localnews@timescolonist.com and put “pumpkin” in the subject line.