CARSTAIRS, Alta. – Eddy Zaychkowsky was a middle aged guy looking for a hobby.
He found it in a pumpkin patch.
This spring he decided to grow giant pumpkins and watched in wonder as the orange orbs swelled to more than 700 pounds.
“All I ever wanted to do was 500 lb. That was a dream and we broke it twice,” said the Airdrie gardener who owns a Calgary construction company on the side.
On Oct. 2, he gathered a crew from the construction site to lug a 720 pounder to the annual Smoky Lake pumpkin festival in northeastern Alberta on Oct. 4. Last year’s Alberta winner came in at 751 lb. so Eddy believes his chances of garnering an award are good.
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Along with his daughter Jen, he entered some of his smaller produce at the annual Carstairs pumpkin festival. He easily took first place in the biggest pumpkin category with a 276 lb. pumpkin. He also brought in a 54 lb. watermelon and a squash that weighed more than 300 lb. He left his four lb. tomatoes at home.
While some enthusiasts pump their pumpkins with steroids, Eddy relied on feedlot manure and plenty of water. This year’s heat wave didn’t hurt.
“Pumpkins love the heat and they love the water,” he said after accepting the first place ribbon.
As the vines crawled through the 10,000 sq. feet set aside in his wife Judy’s garden, the rapidly growing fruit sucked in 80 gallons of water a day. As the giant fruit grew more than 20 lb. a day, the plants aborted the smaller ones and devoted all the growing energy to a few.
Some of the vines were contained in a propane-heated greenhouse while others were outdoors and drew attention from passersby who could not believe what they were seeing from the road.
“We had people stop by that we had never even met,” Jen said.
Pumpkins entered at the Smoky Lake festival must be perfect. The Zaychkowskys had one that weighed more than 600 lb., but a split in the shell eliminated it from competition.
He saved the seeds from that one and can use them for next year, since a germination test showed they are viable.
He planted his crop at the beginning of June and fruit started to set by the end of July. With help from an agronomist friend, he tended the vines, kept the leaves healthy and learned not to fiddle with the plants too much.
“The more you ignore them in the beginning, the better they will do,” Jen said.
As for next year, Zaychkowsky is looking for competitive seeds and plans to be back at Carstairs for the 20th annual festival, where he intends to wow the neighbours with something even bigger and more spectacular.
