Well I guess your weigh - ins will be over and done with. I really hope you all were pleased and are keen to put your feet up, read all about it and get into it next Spring - I am looking forward to seeing the weights. This weekend has been cold and wet. Strong Southerlie winds straight off Antarctica kept the temp around 10 celcius. I got my seeds in, other than that I remained in a somnolent posture. Seven seeds in altogether, 3 Smith 332's and some from our biggest and prettiest from last years weigh in. I will grow two from the Smith 332 to pollinate and two from the others. Each will pollinate the other different one. This way I should get four plants two with females off the Smith and two pollinated from the Smith - totally confused? I am. Anyway the seeds are in the hot house all tucked up in the seed mix. I have to be careful here as my eldest son makes gunpowder and I daren't get the two mixed up. It might be like the 'China Syndrome'!! I stopped adding to the patch a few weeks ago and I am letting it all settle down. The next step is to get a key to the A&P Showgrounds to get access to the old straw from the stables etc to use as a mulch. I have a soak hose that I will bury in the patch in the last dig over and that is connected to the well tap and the mains tap so I can carry on if the water gets short. (I have never seen tall water!!). I also organise the Pumpkin Comp' here. The second annual 'Parks for Pleasure/Hawera Star Pumpkin Grow' was kicked off last Thursday in the Star newspaper (a sponsor). I also secured one of our larger Radio Stations, 'Easy 98FM' as a sponsor, they are going to give us $NZ10,000 + worth of air time over the Summer as well as MC and help out with the pumpkinfest and Weigh - in. Together with the Star we will be reaching over 100,000 people. That is quite a lot in NZ terms. Last Thursday and Friday 48 packets of seed went out. We also did a photo shoot for the Daily News, a provincial paper, so that should be used this week coming - here is hoping. Last year we got 79 pumpkin at the weigh - in so this year I am hoping for 100+. Either way we are after families (for whow we now have a special catagory) as last time the best news was that families and in particular the children really enjoyed it all as that is what I was after. I work as a Parks and Recreation Manager and this is one way of getting kids to appreciate growing things and as an event it is turning into a real winner. Now that you are in your 'off season'. has anybody invented a 'virtual pumpkin' that you have to 'feed and water and spray' etc?? Enough of my ramblings. Cheers John (Pumpkins of New Zealand). Have a 'Parky' day!
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