This week I was going to start building a stool that I have designed with SketchUp, but I decided instead to take advantage of the good weather we had here in Vila de Cruces to prepare the garden for planting in spring. The truth is that the only rush I had was to prepare the ground for the giant pumpkin. It needs quite a lot of space, well-tilled soil, and plenty of compost.
I have a compost barrel full of compost to spread in the area where I’ll plant the pumpkin, but I don’t have enough for the rest of the area it will grow into. So, I spread the grass I had piled up from the end of summer (practically not composted at all, as I didn’t have room in the barrels I use for composting and didn’t pay much attention to it) and also the shredded remains of last year’s pruning (also poorly composted because I didn’t bother turning them in the barrel where they were). In a couple of weeks, if the weather permits, I’ll dig again to mix everything well with the soil. I think that in the three months until the pumpkin plant starts growing, all the organic matter will have time to turn into sufficiently mature compost to feed the plant. (Some time after writing this post, we saw how to make a compost bin with pallet wood).
Last year I used Atlantic Giant seeds that I bought at a supermarket, and the result wasn’t too bad for the first time. This year I’ll try to get quality seeds, which, combined with a better planting area, a more prepared soil, and a year of experience, I hope will result in a slightly larger giant pumpkin. I’ll keep you posted.