Saturday, September 26, 2009

Pumpkin ahoy!

It was about 3 years back that I got the first pumpkin of my garden – well, the first and last. For the last 3 years this vegetable has eluded me. 3 years back, when carrying out routine cleaning and pruning work, I noticed this thing growing behind some thick undergrowth. It was a pleasant surprise. This lone pumpkin escaped unnoticed, as it was hiding behind leaves and twigs. Well, there are some advantages to be had when you are a thoroughly unplanned and clumsy gardener because then you fail to look properly where and if you sowed any seeds, and then such things spring up as a surprise! Well, that was 3 years back. Since then my attempts to grow pumpkin bore no fruit…or vegetable…whatever. But, yesterday it felt as if I had finally hit a 'Pumpkin Patch'. This thing was hanging from a pumpkin wine which had entwined itself around a pomegranate tree. Now you can only call it Nature’s satirical sense of humour; I’ve a pumpkin after a gap of full 3 years, hanging by a thin lifeline, which will snap prematurely sending my much awaited and cherished pumpkin biting the dust. Things might not have turned out exactly the way I would have wanted to, but there is a brighter side – I think the jinx which was holding the pumpkins back has been broken and will soon have a huge healthy pumpkin kissing my garden soil.

12 comments:

Claude said...

I love botanical surprises. Sometimes, just when you've given up on a plant, it pulls a trick out of it's hat and there you are!

Sunita Mohan said...

That's one ambitious pumpkin!
Maybe you could provide a safety net? One of those plastic string nets should work, if its hyng a little below it. Just in case.
But its good to hear about the reversal of pumpkin fortunes :)

Julie said...

How amazing! What a great surprise after all these years! I am so excited for you and your daughter! Please keep us posted on the pumpkin progress!!!

workhard said...

I had a surprise once... my brother threw bean scraps in my compost.. and i didnt know what plant it was until the flowers turned into beans...


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Jan said...

I love surprises! I hope you can find a way to support this vine so this pumpkin won't have to snap off and drop to the ground before it gets much bigger! I like Sunita's idea;-)

Tootsie said...

what a wonderful surprise!!! I had tried a few years back to grow a 300 pound pumpkin...it hit 50 pounds and then the bugs moved in and had a feast!

Urban Green said...

Pure delight...isn't it? I can totally imagine how it feels.

Aiyana said...

Great story. I suppose you could design a sling system or hoist of some sort to take off the weight, but that's too much work. Just having it show up like it did is good enough in a way!
Aiyana

Carol said...

How poetic to have a pumpkin entwine around a pomegranate tree... perhaps you could give it some underneath support. I love finding garden surprises like these... it just illustrates that our gardens are alive and engrossed in their own processes of growth... that is ... when we allow some control to be let go... loosen the reins so to speak. Here is wishing you many fruitful pumpkin years to come. Carol

Unknown said...

use pantyhose to hold it up. i did that for cantelopes. cut the ends off and slip the pumpkin into the foot and tie it up and around a support.

Matron said...

It looks like you have broken your pumpkin duck! (a cricketing expression!) Does anyone celebrate halloween in India?

Pat said...

Yay, happy for you.
My mother in-law uses panty hose also.
We have to try some different fruits. Looks like fun.

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