Famers prepare to break pumpkin record

Contestants of the 2018 Goliat van Gat big pumpkin competition getting ready to plant record-breaking pumpkins.

August 20, 2017

Ron Sibiya 1 minute read

Reynard and Elri van Aarda. Photo: Ron Sibiya.

Pumpkin farmers gathered at the Pretoria Old Motor club in Silverton on Saturday to master the tricks of growing giant pumpkins.

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More than 10 people intending to enter the Goliat van Gat big pumpkin competition in March next year joined the country’s record planter, Hugo le Roux, for training.

Le Roux shared tips on how he had grown a pumpkin weighing 556kg.

“The most important thing to grow a big pumpkin is to make sure that it is pruned correctly,” Le Roux advised them.

He said the stem had to be pruned and the roots maximised.

“Each leaf will have three roots. So, make sure you cover the roots and prune your plant properly.”

Farmers attending the lesson had an opportunity to buy seeds from the Cullinan Famers Union of the same type of pumpkin that broke the record this year.

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Competion organiser Henri Combrink said the training offered for first time prior to the contest sought to equip farmers with scientific skills required to grow big pumpkins.

“Planting a big pumpkin is not just about putting a seed in the ground and leaving it there. This will merely give you a normal size pumpkin of around 30kg. Growing a big pumpkin needs a lot of knowledge.”

Combrink said he expected the expertise gained from the training would result in a tightly-contested competition next year.

“We expect to have a pumpkin that will break this year’s record in 2018.”

The Goliat van Gat big pumpkin competition has been taking place for the past 14 years. All the pumpkins brought to the competition are donated to charity organisations.