Annual festival celebrates humongous gourds and family fun
Four-time winner Leonardo Urena of Napa poses with his 2021 champion – 1,623 pounds. Photo courtesy of Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival
Where can you see a 1,000-pound pumpkin? Elk Grove, of course, at its annual Giant Pumpkin Festival.
This weekend, Oct. 7 and 8, marks the 29th Giant Pumpkin Festival with plenty of pumpkin to see (and eat!) at Elk Grove Park, 9950 Elk Grove-Florin Road, Elk Grove. Admission is free, but parking is $10 (cash only).
Since 1994, this pumpkin party has grown into the largest salute of its kind in the Sacramento region. Pumpkin growers will haul in their prized giants for the annual weigh-in and a chance at history (as well as cold cash). Last year’s winner (which tipped the scales at 1,866.5 pounds) took home $7,000. The weigh-in starts at 9 a.m. Saturday with winners announced at 4 p.m. Check-in is 7 to 9 a.m.; entry fee is $10 per pumpkin in advance or $25 on Saturday.
Don’t miss the Pumpkin Regatta at noon Sunday. Runner-up pumpkins from the weigh-off are carved into boats and raced across the park’s lake. Anyone (over age 18) with access to a giant floatable pumpkin can enter. Fee is $5 and check-in is 9 a.m. Sunday.
Other contests include a pumpkin recipe contest, cupcake and junior baking contests for kids and teens, a scarecrow contest and youth art contest. (Entry forms and details are available online.)
Expect to find lots of food and fun with food trucks, arts and crafts vendors, carnival rides and, of course, a giant pumpkin patch.
Details and directions: https://www.cosumnescsd.gov/392/Elk-Grove-Giant-Pumpkin-Festival.
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This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
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* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
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* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.
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