Well this year's pumpkin contest proved to be a little difficult for the Gale family. The Blackwoods were the only ones to grow any pumpkins this year! They were just larger than a soft ball. It seems that the bees were not pollinating well this year in our yard, or anyone else's yard in our family. Unfortunately we did not discover what the problem was until it was too late to grow anything of any real size. Josh did not plant any pumpkin seeds, Daniel was able to grow a small upright vine with a few leaves, and Bobby and Nancy were able to grow a small vine with a female flower. Matt proved to be the most competition in the beginning because he had good strong vines with large leaves. However, he could not get his flowers to pollinate and his plant began to die in early October. Our vines got up to 20 feet long and produced many female flowers. We were able to grow the two pumpkins that you see in the pictures. However, the jack-o-lantern was grown by a gardener that attends our church. He graciously gave Samuel and Emma that pumpkin to carve for Halloween. It was a neat process to watch the pumpkins grow over the past 4 months. We are already talking about what we will do different next year. So the first place ribbon this year goes to the Blackwood family! Thanks to everyone who voted!
