Shawn Tremblay has never grown a pumpkin before and says that he doesn’t plan to do it again. This summer, the 21-year-old local man decided he would see if he could grow just one big pumpkin.
That he did, finally cutting the stalk off last weekend for a 152 kg (335 lb.) monster.
“It grew a lot bigger than I thought it would,” he admitted. “We didn’t plan on growing anything this year. I thought I’d give it a shot.”
It was no accident though. Apart from researching growing methods on the Internet and devoting an entire 6.1-metre x 9.1-metre garden to the gargantuan orange gourd, he’s also in his fourth year at the University of Alberta, studying crop science in the Faculty of Agriculture.
He also spends his summers working at Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens.
Tremblay divulged that he did have some tricks up his sleeve, not the least of which was making sure to place it on a board for easy transport.
“I covered the vine in dirt to make it grow more roots and I fertilized it every second or third day during the summer.”
He said he also watered it religiously. Even though central Alberta had abundant rain this summer, it wasn’t enough for his ‘baby,’ his new nickname for the big fruit.
“I probably gave it a few gallons of water every day.”
Tremblay also got the most out of the growing season by starting the seedling indoors in mid-April and then planting it in the garden. It took a long time to get going and he even lost heart that he would get anything out of it at all.
The height of the summer was fairly fruitful though.
“It only started growing at the end of July, beginning of August. In one month it grew 300 lbs. It must’ve gained 10 or 15 lbs. every day.”
At the end, the vines occupied the entire plot, leaving only space for a few tomato plants on the fringe. When he decided the time was right, he needed a team of six people to lift it onto the old butcher scale in his garage to check the weight.
There isn’t a pumpkin competition in Tremblay’s future, nor is there a pumpkin pie booth at this weekend’s last edition of the St. Albert Farmers’ Market. He said that he only plans to carve it up for a nice-sized jack o’lantern for Halloween.
That messy job, he said, he’ll take up himself.
“With a shovel,” his dad Lawrence joked.
