Between making the table saw and the method for cutting tenons, this video where I carve the pumpkin to make a Samhain lantern (or Halloween lantern, as you prefer) slipped in. This pumpkin was supposed to be giant, around 300kg, but it seems the plant didn’t like the cool weather we had in July in Vila de Cruces, and its growth was delayed by a month. The pumpkin finally appeared in August and didn’t have time to grow. Still, I harvested a good pumpkin to make the Samhain lantern.
Luckily, I was cautious and convinced a good friend to plant another giant pumpkin plant (Atlantic Giant) on his land in Dena, closer to the sea and with a warmer climate. The result, as you can see in the photos, is a giant 350kg pumpkin worthy of appearing on Galician television.
To lift it and place it on the pallet, we needed a chain hoist (chain block?) attached to a beam. It doesn’t look very good in the photos, but in the end, it worked without anything collapsing. Next time, we’ll try to be more prepared. Next year, I’m sure we will surpass this weight. If I have a good summer here at the rural house, watch out Diego, your pumpkin will look tiny (we no longer have the rural house, but we might still be encouraged to plant and care for another giant pumpkin in Sanxenxo. Otherwise, I’ll convince my friend to plant another one in his garden).
Well, back to the Samhain lantern (Halloween lantern, Jack O’ Lantern). There’s not much to say. We spent some time thinking about the design, and once we decided, we started carving. Just be careful not to cut yourself, especially when working with the pumpkin skin, which is hard and sometimes breaks when we exert force with the knife. Since this pumpkin is large and has a lot of space inside and I had some small pumpkins, I decided to make a simple diorama inside the large one.
It is not easy to grow such large pumpkins; it takes years of learning, but I am sure from the first year you dedicate yourself to this hobby, you will get hooked and try to achieve greater weights each year. There is something magical about pumpkins that captivates us so much.
More Halloween pumpkins or Samhain pumpkins.