Gardening off the smell of an oily rag should not just be about practical edibles like cabbage, caulis and carrots. For fun, why not try your hand at growing giant pumpkins?
After months of care and attention, giant pumpkin growers from around the country have been weighing in this year's harvest to see who takes out the "biggest in show" title. This year's whopper was weighed on April 7 at the Great Pumpkin Carnival at Hamilton Gardens. A giant grown by Tim Harris tipped the scales at 577kg, smashing his 2012 winning entry of 290kg.
Although the 577kg pumpkin is a giant, it is still a lightweight compared to the 721kg whopper grown a couple of years back by the Barton family from Parua Bay (Whangarei).
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world record for the heaviest pumpkin is 824kg, grown by a Canadian couple from Ontario. That record was set in 2011.
Every giant pumpkin grower seems to have their own secret to success but, generally, giant pumpkins like what most plants like: sunshine, water, cow manure, fish emulsion, seaweed, and the occasional hug.
All of this takes a bit of planning, so now is the time to learn a little more and get your site ready for spring planting. To learn more, a good place to start is a website specifically about giant pumpkins, called www.giantpumkin.co.nz. Sam is the man behind the site, and he does a great job at explaining what you need to get started - from what seeds to buy, where to buy them, to how to feed the pumpkins and so on. He updates his site with news and photos from the many pumpkin growing competitions around the country.
What a great fun way, we thought, to get the family involved in the garden - after all, you will need all the willing helpers you can get to lift your giants at harvest time.
The big question is, can you eat a giant pumpkin? Well, yes. Sam says they taste a little like rock melon, but not quite as good.
Anyway, it's probably fair to say that that for the kitchen, you are better off growing the regular garden variety, so you should plan to use the giant pumpkin to feed the family pig or cow.
If you grow a whopper you will be able to sell the seeds - there are heaps of giant pumpkin seeds for sale online. Imagine what the seeds from the world's largest pumpkin would be worth.
There are lots of ways to cook regular pumpkin - in fact as many ways to cook pumpkin as there are to cook shrimp - pumpkin soup, pumpkin jam, pumpkin scones, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cream, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin chutney, pumpkin croquettes, pumpkin curry, pumpkin kebabs, pumpkin marmalade, pumpkin fritters, pumpkin bread, pumpkin wine, pumpkin salad, baked pumpkin, crumbed pumpkin, pan-fried pumpkin, deep-fried pumpkin, stir-fried pumpkin, pickled pumpkin, barbecued pumpkin ... and that's about it!
And freezing it is no problem either. GP writes, "Pumpkins freeze well. Cut into meal-sized pieces, clean the pulp from the centres and freeze in plastic bags.
"Do not thaw before using. Straight into the water or roasting dish for cooking.
'Alternatively, pulp the pumpkins - freeze in icecream containers, and use for soup or jam as time permits."
Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips at www.oilyrag.co.nz