Lielaugļu ķirbis "Big Max", sēklas Nojaus 2 g

• Type: giant pumpkin, annual vegetable
• Botanical name: Cucurbita maxima "Big Max"
• Maturity: late
• Fruit: average about 18 kg, up to 45 kg and more
• Sowing: indoors late April–May, 2–3 cm deep; plant out early June
• Germination: 6–10 days at 22–25 °C
• Spacing: 100 × 100 cm
• Harvest: August–September
• Light: full sun
• Use: soups, baking, juice, autumn decoration
• Size: packet 2 g (about 5–8 seeds)

Planting. Sow in late April–May, 2–3 cm deep, one seed per 10–12 cm pot, at 22–25 °C. Plant out in early June after the frost risk, 1 × 1 m apart – ideally in a sunny spot on top of a compost or manure heap.

Watering and feeding. Giant pumpkins need lots of water and food: water seldom but deeply, with warm water at the base. Put a bucket of compost in the planting hole and feed every 10–14 days in summer with a potassium-rich vegetable fertiliser.

Care. For big fruit leave 1–2 fruit per plant and pinch out the tip of the main vine once they have set. Put a board or straw under the fruit to stop it rotting.

Gardener's tip. Cut the fruit with 5–8 cm of stalk and cure it for a couple of weeks in a warm room – it then keeps longer. For a contest grow only one fruit per plant.