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Will another one-ton giant pumpkin tip the scales?

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 1, 2018

This is one of Ron Root's mega pumpkins, displayed at the Heirloom Expo in 2012.
Root, of Citrus Heights, won the world title in 2010. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Countdown is on for weigh-ins at Elk Grove, Half Moon Bay contests

It's giant pumpkin time! See these mammoths of the gourd world compete in two major Northern California contests.

Of course, it's the farmers and backyard gardeners who do all the sweating, transporting and lifting these back-busters into place. The pumpkins just have to sit there and look plump.

First up is the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival. Weigh-in starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at Elk Grove Park. Walk-up registration ($10) is open from 7 to 9 a.m.

Besides gigantic pumpkins, the Elk Grove fest also has categories for biggest zucchini, sunflower, other squash, watermelon, cantaloupe and tomato as well as longest gourd and tallest cornstalk. (Go to www.yourcsd.com and follow the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival links for details.)

Last year's big winner traveled cross country for the $7 a pound prize money. Josiah Brandt of Wisconsin won $14,665 for his 2,095-pound champion pumpkin.

Celebrating all things pumpkin, the Elk Grove festival is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7. Admission is free, but parking is $10. Elk Grove Park is located at 9950 Elk Grove Florin Rd, Elk Grove.

On Monday, Oct. 8, comes the big daddy of giant pumpkin contests -- the 45th annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay.

Starting at 7 a.m. Monday, giant pumpkins from throughout the country will tip the scale for top honors and $7 a pound plus a chance at a $30,000 bonus for a world record. Joel Holland, a retired Washington firefighter, set an American record with last year's winner, which weighed in at 2,363 pounds.

The weigh-in runs from 7 to 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 8, on Half Moon Bay's historic Main Street. Details: https://weighoff.miramarevents.com

Sacramento-area pumpkins have had success at the world championships, too. Citrus Heights' Ron Root won the 2010 world crown at Half Moon Bay with a 1,535-pound specimen.

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gardening pumpkins Sacramento vegetables Elk Grove events Citrus Heights gourds melons Half Moon Bay fall festival

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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