By Karen Rice
Official Kids Mag
We know that fall is still quite
a few months away, but it's not
too early to start growing a
Halloween pumpkin! Or one to
enter in the county fair!
Melissa Bond started growing
pumpkins for a hobby about five
years ago. She's a teacher in the
Gentry school district and wants
to encourage kids to try growing
pumpkins.
When she started, she didn't
know anything about growing
pumpkins, but she researched
online and "read everything
I could find about pumpkin
farming."
With the help of her close
friends who farm and have
equipment, she was able to
prepare an area to plant 90
mounds her first year.
"The first year I planted jack-
o-lanterns, gourds and
specialty pumpkins. It
was a success with a
total of 300 pumpkins," she says.
"I was hooked after that and have
grown a pumpkin patch every
year since."
At the end of the 2020
growing season Melissa decided
she wanted a bigger challenge.
She started looking up the
world's largest pumpkins. She
was shocked to find that the
2021 world record is a pumpkin
weighting a whopping 2703
pounds, grown in Italy by Stefano
Cutrupi. A man from Rhode
Island named Ron Wallace was
the first person in the United
States to grow a pumpkin that
weighed over a ton. He held
the world record in 2012 with a
2009-pound giant. Melissa also
learned that the current Arkansas
state record is 684 pounds, and
got excited about the possibility
of growing a record breaking
giant pumpkin.
"The single most important
thing is the seeds. Giant seeds
sell for unbelievable prices but
genetics are very important,"
land
giants
of
the
It's time to plant a jack-o-lantern!
melissa's steps for growing a Jack-o-lantern
1
Pick a spacious spot in full
sun with good soil that
drains well
2
allow 50 to 100 square feet
for sprawling vines
3
If planting more than one
mound allow 4 to 8 feet
between mounds
4
the average Jack-o-lantern
takes around 100-120 days
to grow
5
count backwards from the
day you want to harvest so
you know when to plant seeds.
I suggest planting mid June
30 • JuNe 2022 • www.OfficialKidsMag.com
