Lightly sand the edges of the Atlantic Giant pumpkin seed until the edges
appear whiteish- be careful not to sand the tip. Doing this will help it absorb water and also make
it easier to shed the seed coat. Sprout the seed in a damp (but not wet)
paper towel kept in a warm (but not hot) place indoors- about 80 degrees
steady. Start the seed around the last week in April. Once the root is an inch
or so long, transfer the seed sprout to a big pot indoors- you may have to gently help
the seed leaves shed the tough seed coat. Once the first true leaves come out, transplant
outside, protecting from frost if needed, and taking special care not to disturb the roots. Add
composted cow manure to the garden soil beforehand, and fertilize
with Miracle Gro fertilizer. Water & fertilize & check for bugs. Repeat at least weekly.
You'll probably have to spray for cucumber beetles or squash vine borer moths at some time.
Bury the vines as they grow, up to and including the last leaf bigger than your
open hand (it will grow more roots from every leaf junction that's buried). You can
"train" the vine to grow where you want it to; move it only after the afternoon sun
has warmed things up (the vine will be less prone to breaking), and hold it in place
with sticks until rooted. An added benefit to staking down the vine is that it
protects it from wind damage... these leaves will get to be quite big and tall.
The seeds will keep for many
years if kept dark, dry, & cool- do not try to sprout all of them at once-
you'll just waste them. Try one or two at a time.
Atlantic Giant Pumpkins; a SUPER site:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/pumkin.html
How to Grow area of the above site:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/secert.html
A very popular site, w/message board, photos, great stuff:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com
Atlantic Giant Genetics Cooperative (works with I.Explorer 6+
ONLY)- It's an incredible repository of the family trees &
history of AG seeds.
http://www.aggc.org/aggc_main.asp
How to grow:
If you are REALLY interested, you need to buy this guy's
book (amazon.com sells it too):
http://www.giantpumpkin.com/
How-to and more links:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/wcgp/#Techniques
Mallorn computing Giant Pumpkins mailing list & list
archives:
http://www.hort.net/lists/pumpkins/
Check out this guy's giant watermelons- wider than the bed
of a pickup- see his 1999 and 2000 pictures:
http://www.melonman.com/