A little while ago we were given 2 massive home grown pumpkins by a friend of mine that has a back yard overgrown with pumpkin vines. She made a comment that the kids had planted them last year and she hasn’t been able to stop them growing since. Not that she minds, she has this kind of secret garden vibe happening back there.

So I thought, if her kids could cultivate such a successful, overgrown plant, surely even the most agriculturally challenged could give it a good crack.

So we cooked a big batch of pumpkin soup (4 days of eating pumpkin soup has put hubby off it for life) and Little Miss and I scooped out all the seeds and put them in a cup of water to clean them. I put the seeds out the back soaking in the water, and to be honest, we actually forgot about them.

But a couple of days later, Little Miss came running in with a big grin very excited about finding the seeds again and wanting to plant them. I wasn’t quite sure how the seeds would grow after we had already neglected them. But, I figured that hubby could pick up some seedlings from Bunnings if no pumpkins poked their heads up in the next couple of days.

So we dug a shallow hole in the garden and tipped the seeds in the ground and covered them back up again. Little Miss gave them a little water and was so chuffed about her seeds and was already planning what to make with the pumpkins. Secretly I was not hopeful that we would have any luck.

Everyday Little Miss was bursting to check the progress of her little seedlings. Watering them and seeing if they had sprouted yet was by far the highlight of her day.

Just when I was about to give up hope for little pumpkins, and send hubby on a mercy trip to Bunnings… we went out one morning and found that they had sprouted. Little Miss was over the moon. Next morning, there was more sprouts. And, for the next week, more and more seedlings poked up through the dirt.
Not holding much hope for the pumpkins, I threw all the seeds in hoping we might get one or two. Well, turns out we now have about 50 sprouts, in a tiny little piece of garden.
After doing a bit of reading on growing them (probably should have done that before I planted the mass of seeds in the back yard), I have found that there are a couple of things you can do to give them more of a fighting chance.

1.They like well nourished soil (the kind filled with lots of worms and compost)

2.They need watering everyday to keep them moist (apparently if my pumpkins do grow, this will keep them soft and big)

3.They can take up to 4 or 5 months to get to the pumpkin making stage (I wonder if Little Miss will lose interest by then?)

4.Plant them one at a time with a bit of space between them.

All you really need is a little bit of garden space and some pumpkin seeds.

I don’t know if we will get pumpkins from ours, but I do know that at the moment those little seeds are my daughters pride and joy.

Gemma Mulcahy

After 2 babies, 14 months apart, I was straight back to work to try and juggle family and home life as best I could. I was quickly in over my head and found that Life was messier than I had imagined. My world of deadlines and manicured suits was getting harder to maintain. So after hubby started his own business, we made the mutual decision that I would stay home to look after the children till they were back in school. Now I am at home, setting my own deadlines and trying to entertain my bouncy toddlers as best I can. This is all new for me, and I know that there are other mums out there who are feeling their way through this toddler time as well. I wouldn’t swap this time for anything, but I am also finding out that it is sometimes hard to stay motivated during this period of life.

That’s why I am writing down the activities the kids and I enjoy and when I look back over them, I am encouraged that my children’s creativity is being nurtured as best I know how. And I remember that the time I am spending with them, is so important and valuable as they grow into the little people I love and adore.