National Pumpkin Sowing Day announced by Thompson & Morgan - 12th April 2017
As sponsors of the UK’s giant pumpkin growing competition each autumn at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth's annual event in Southampton, Thompson & Morgan is launching National Pumpkin Sowing Day. In response to the many queries that the horticultural mail order giant receives around the time of the giant pumpkin weigh-in, the company has decided to set a date for those wanting to grow a modest pumpkin for carving at Halloween or for those wanting to try their hand at growing a giant record-breaker.
Paul Hansord, T&M;’s commercial director, himself a keen pumpkin grower, said:
"We get so many enquiries at the giant pumpkin weigh-in and around Halloween when people are seeing pumpkins in the shops, asking how to grow them at home. So we’ve decided to set April 12th as National Pumpkin Sowing Day 2017. If people can buy their seeds and get ready to sow them on this date, we’ll support them with growing tips and hope that someone out there might grow a pumpkin to rival last year’s winner".
The heaviest pumpkin at last year’s event weighed in at 2,252.3lb and was grown by Ian and Stuart Paton who have broken the UK record an incredible 7 times. The majority of entries to the 2016 official weigh-in at the Southampton pumpkin event were grown from seeds that came from giant pumpkins grown by the Patons. Seeds from the Paton twins’ 2016 record-breaking giant pumpkin are available from T&M; - 2 seeds of ‘Paton Twins Giant’ retail at £9.99.
RHS Hyde Hall’s Matt Oliver won the award in 2016 for the largest outdoor-grown pumpkin with a seed purchased for £1,250 by Thompson & Morgan. His pumpkin weighed in at an astounding 1,333.8lb (95 stone or 605kg) and the seeds from this aptly named ‘Matt’s Monster’ can be purchased from Thompson & Morgan at a cost of £7.99 for 3 seeds.
"The seeds from ‘Matt’s Monster’ and ‘Paton Twins Giant’ might seem a little expensive, but they come with a fantastic pedigree", commented Paul Hansord. "Each seed is packed with giant pumpkin potential".
Other pumpkin seeds are available from T&M; for those who want to grow a modest-sized pumpkin, such as ‘Jack Of All Trades’, for carving at Halloween or for those who simply have a penchant for pumpkin pie or a hearty pumpkin soup.
T&M; will be supporting pumpkin growers after they have sown their seeds with information on how to grow giant pumpkins and on growing regular pumpkins for Halloween on its website, as well as with timely posts on social media.
Written by: Sonia Mermagen
Although I love beautiful plants and gardens, I am a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and 
am generally amazed if anything flourishes in my own garden.
I'm a big fan of plants marked ‘easy to grow’, ‘drought tolerant’ and ‘no pruning necessary’ and have had some success over the years with Buddleja ‘Buzz’, Lily ‘Defender’ and Lavender ‘Munstead’. I do enjoy a small, but very tasty annual crop of blueberries from my lone blueberry plant.
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