Tampere Growers Prime Giant Pumpkins for Kaleva Hall and National Contest
Organizers will display Tampere-grown giant pumpkins at Kaleva Hall on 25 September; growers can have their entries transported to the national championships in Mäntsälä the next day.
Aamulehti reports that Tuomas Ilander of Blokgarden Ltd. has coordinated the city's giant-pumpkin entries, overseeing plots around Kaleva and at Tammenlehväkeskus where nurses and retirees have joined the effort. In Kaleva he is watching two big plants. One fruit failed, but a backup pumpkin is forming; the other could still bulk up, although he declined to make firm predictions with a month to go.
Organizers will display the pumpkins at Kaleva Hall on 25 September. Growers who wish can have their pumpkins loaded there and transported to Mäntsälä the following day for the national growing championships.
At Tammenlehväkeskus a pumpkin the size of a football was spotted two weeks ago and is expected to grow larger. The effort continues a local push to produce bigger contest pumpkins, following earlier coverage of Tampere's giant pumpkin preparations.
After the event most pumpkins will be turned into soup, jam or carved for Halloween. Individual growers can decide the fate of their own fruit.
Earlier coverage
Catch the full story over at Aamulehti
