Was Robinia cuttings, now Pumpkin thievery

In a message dated 9/18/99 9:32:32 PM EST, Barry_Garcia@monterey.edu writes:

<< Fortunately in my city we dont have plant vandals. I was able to grow
 pumpkins in our unfenced front yard a couple of years ago and no one tried
 to steal the fruits. >>

Be thankful you don't live in Stockton.  When my daughters were young, we 
always let them plant their own pumpkins in the vegetable garden.  I should 
probably first explain for our non-North American members that pumpkins play 
a big part in the holiday known in America as Halloween and in most other 
countries as All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve.  Here, pumpkins are 
principally grown to be used on Halloween (although they are also 
commercially grown for their pulp, which is generally canned or made into 
pies), when they are hollowed out, scary faces are carved into them , and 
candles placed inside of them (they are then known as Jack-o-lanterns) as a 
sort of ghoulish, twilight decoration for "trick-or-treaters," who are 
neighborhood children who go door to door, "disguised" in a variety of 
costumes, collecting candy from everyone.  As you can see, as with most 
holidays that are religious in origin in our country, this one is now almost 
entirely commercialized (there is a whole industry around it, but that's 
another story).  Anyway, one year my daughters decided to see how big they 
could grow their pumpkins.  We planted the variety "Atlantic Giants," and 
followed all the instructions for growing mammoth fruits.  We ended up with 
two that were around a meter tall and a meter in diameter and were so heavy 
(two grown men couldn't lift one) that we had to roll them from the back 
garden around to the front porch, where we thought they made a wonderful, 
seasonal decoration.  There were also a couple of smaller ones that were 
still huge by anyone's definition and weighed over 100 pounds each.  We had 
these four enormous pumpkins on our porch for about a week before they were 
stolen.  I know for a fact that it took 3 or 4 men to lift one of the big 
ones, and they had to have had a truck to put it in.  Unfortunately, none of 
the neighbors had seen anything, so we were left "pumpkin-less" that 
Halloween.  Needless to say, the children were devastated.  They had worked 
so hard and were so proud of their giant pumpkins.  But, did I mention you 
can buy white super sweet corn 10 ears for $1?  That doesn't exactly make up 
for it, but there are tradeoffs to living here, as with any place.

Kurt Mize
Stockton, California
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