Once upon a time, in a world far far away, I thought that I’d have time to grow a pumpkin. I had an idea (thanks to a pumpkin-crazed friend) that we should all grow pumpkins.
I sent a call out to the world, yelling, “Get your pumpkin seeds here! Get y’r pumpkin seeds here, everybody!”
The world responded. I happily sent little pumpkin seed packages (seeds all courtesy of my friend Christy, giant pumpkin guru!) all over North America: from right here in PEI all the way east to Pender Island, BC and way down the southern coast to Georgia.
All told, ten pumpkin seed packages were hurtled to:
- Lynden, WA
- Pender Island, BC
- East Lawrencetown, NS
- Charlottetown, PE
- Kinross, PE
- Van Dyne, WI
- Ladysmith, BC
- Fortson, GA
- Montague, PE
- Lawrenceville, GA
- Plus, I kept a package for myself (which I failed to plant because…because… Well, I just didn’t do it.)
The rules were as follows:
1. I will send you a couple of pumpkin seeds.
2. Do whatever you want with them. Plant them, feed them to monkeys, throw them in that junk drawer that has safety pins and matches and pens and half-dead batteries all jumbled up together. (I hope you have a drawer like that, too?)
Pumpkin seeds went out, and I plumb forgot all about the pumpkin experiment. A few months later, a trickle of pumpkin emails visited my inbox. In no particular order:
1. Lynden, WA: Planted? Yes! Success? Not with pumpkins, but success with many other important life successes!
“I gave those little ingrates every shot at a long, fruitful life (get it? Fruitful?), but they refused to sprout. I tried many things, and all I got was mold (I think they just needed a good soaking right off the bat; even then, it’s a crapshoot with seeds, as they’re just kinda fickle like that). They’ve been given one last shot to prove themselves, as I tucked them away in the otherwise-successful victory garden (which doubles as a convenient seed cemetery).
“Hey, I tried. And you tried to help me. Let’s just remember in our old age that they flourished and I had one hell of a huge pumpkin to show for it!”
2. Pender Island, BC: Planted? Yes! Success? Yes!
This girl’s got a green thumb. And when I say green, I mean, really green.
“Thought I’d give you an update on our giant pumpkin plant. We have a very humongous pumpkin forming.”
No kidding!
3. East Lawrencetown, NS: Planted? Yes! Success? Yes!
East Lawrencetown has pumpkins up the ying yang. She planted big ones and small ones and now she’s got pumpkins coming out of her ears in a giant shmozzle of pumpkins!
She’s not sure which ones are which, but who cares? Pumpkins galore=success!
In the words of East Lawrencetown, NS, “Now they’re all mixed up.”
4. Charlottetown, PE: Planted? Yes! Success? Yes, until nature took a nasty turn!
I heard through the Facebook grapevine that Charlottetown’s pumpkin didn’t make it: “Now they are sitting in two little pots outside on the step. One hasn’t done anything, the other is just a little green stick…Â Maybe I’ve killed them?”
For some silly reason I then began referring to Charlottetown as “The Pumpkin Killer.” I’m not sure why I would do such a thing.
This is my official apology, Charlottetown. You gave them a chance, you watched them grow, you nurtured them and reported on their every growth spurt.
Sometimes these things just aren’t meant to be. You are not a pumpkin killer! You loved your pumpkins and helped them grow. Tragedy struck. And that is all there is to it.
5. Kinross, PE: Planted? No. Wonderful gal? Yes.
Kinross, god love her, is just like me! She has a crazy life that did not allow for pumpkins.
Nope, no sir, no time for pumpkins. I can totally relate.
“I’m ashamed to say that I am pumpkin-less also. Alas, they are still sitting on top of the fridge. Every weekend I would say to myself I should really read those directions I printed off and get this pumpkin rolling. Yes…that never happened. I can chalk it up to is life happened…*sigh*. I’ve been dreaming of pumpkins though!”
Yep, Kinross is a girl after my own heart. Life happens!
6. Van Dyne, WI: Planted? Yes. No sprouting though…
“Alas, planted ours but they didn’t sprout. Disappointed but kind of glad my garden isn’t completely taken over with pumpkin vines. I’m content with the carrots, beans, and peas right now. We’re picking our first batch of beans for eating tonight!”
Those pumpkin seeds are elusive buggers. Some sprout, some don’t. Keeps life interesting!
7. Ladysmith, BC: Planted? Yes. Success? Yes!
A month or two ago Ladysmith sent me these glorious pictures along with the following message:
“Here are 2 pictures of the pumpkins. I mean the pumpkin leaves, branches and green stuff. There are no actual pumpkins yet. I wonder when the pumpkins start to show up?”
Since these pictures were taken, I recently interviewed Ladysmith on the telephone about her pumpkins.
My cryptic handwritten notes from the phone call:
- Unshapely
- In need of nutrients and water
- Was kind of yellow, now turning orange
- Somewhere between a softball and a soccer ball in size
- Not a perfect pumpkin shape
- Slightly odd
Success!
8. Montague, PE: Planted? Yes. Success? Good planting, no sprouting. Many other projects on the go though!
“I did plant one pumpkin seed in each of two large pots on my patio. Maybe because of the backward summer so far they have not sprouted.above the soil.”
Never mind that. Sowing the seeds is the important thing!
9. Lawrenceville, GA: Planted? No. Graduated from University? Yes! Busy lady? Yes!
“I do confess that I am (sadly) pumpkin-free just like you.”
That’s okay, Lawrenceville. Rome wasn’t built in a day. There will be time for pumpkins for you and me both.
That sums up the pumpkin status updates!
All told I’m pleased and amazed with the smattering of different experiences and results. None of us grew REALLY SUPER GIANT pumpkins, but that’s a testament to the amount of work it does take to grow a superhuman freaky pumpkin.
So, was this a contest?
No. There are no winners or losers.
There were just people digging their hands in the dirt and watching things grow. And that, my friends, makes winners of us all.
. I’d never heard of the Woodswoman series of books, and they sound very intriguing! I’d love to read them.
. I haven’t read it, but I did see the movie that was based on the book; the movie was also called Into the Wild. When I saw the movie I didn’t realize that it was based on a book. If I knew that, I would have wanted to read the book first, because I think books are always better.
