CARVING UP A TREAT

With Halloween approaching now is the time to prepare your pumpkin lanterns

To help survive this phase of the coronavirus upswing, I’m undertaking more indoor gardenrelated projects. And even though we won’t have children trick or treating this year, it is nice to keep up the tradition of the season by decorating the house and understanding how some of our Halloween rituals have evolved.

Carving pumpkins comes from the old Celtic tradition of making turnip lanterns with a lump of burning coal inside during November to ward off evil spirits.

Emigrants from Ireland and Scotland to America then brought this tradition with them and started using pumpkins instead, which are far easier to carve than turnips. It’s a fun, easy and cheap way to make Halloween decorations.

When buying, look for a good firm vegetable and before you begin carving, plan what you are going to do. There are plenty of ideas and templates on the internet or use your imagination.

You’ll need a really sharp knife for cutting and while this is a fun project to do with youngsters, be careful. If they’re very young, let them show you the faces they’d like but you do the carving.

Take off the top by putting your knife in at an angle and cut all the way round, creating a cap or lid. Scoop out the innards removing as much wet mushy material as possible so you leave yourself with a firm solid bowl.

Following your template, draw the outline on the veg with a Sharpie or marker. Then, with definite cuts, start with the eyes – they’ll be the easiest. For a simple effect I’ve gone for eyes,

Pumpkins can be sown from late May for Halloween

oven for a tasty and healthy snack. Alternatively you could dry them out and store them for propagating your own pumpkins next year. While easy enough to grow, they do need a good deal of space so are not feasible in smaller plots. You can plant seeds outdoors in the ground from late May to early June when there is no fear of frost as they are tender. Or you can get started earlier indoors from mid-April. Just cover with a plastic or glass cloche to encourage germination. If planting seedlings in situ, space them 10ft apart to allow sufficient room. They also want plenty of sunshine and a rich, moist soil. Adequate water is essential through the growing season as they are prone to powdery mildew if they suffer water stress. Mulching will help conserve water through a dry period.

Feed them fortnightly with a high potash formula such as tomato liquid feed when they are forming fruit. If you want larger fruit, thin out to two or three per plant so energy is directed to these ones.

Now is also a good time to order pumpkin seeds for sowing next spring. ‘Becky’ is the classic Halloween variety, ideal for carving. If you want to grow monster sized, you could try ‘ Dill’s Atlantic Giant’. At the other end of the scale, ‘Jack Be Little’ are one of the smallest and will make really cute decorations.

And for something special, look for ‘Rouge Vif d’Etampes’ also known as the Cinderella pumpkin – all you’ll need then is a fairy godmother to wave her wand and deliver you a beautiful carriage!

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