Matron's Pumpkin Nightmare

 With a little help I managed to get my prize winning giant pumpkin indoors and avoiding the nasty weather outside. But what on earth am I going to do with 191 pounds of it?

 I had to use a garden spade to break it open, If that didn't work I was headed for the garden shed looking for a power saw!

 Well, as you might expect I had an audience as I was cutting it up.

 Of course I managed to cut my finger whilst doing so!  Life is so much more difficult without the use of one of your thumbs, don't you think?

 So I managed to cut up and de-seed only a fraction of it.  Into an oven to cook it and hopefully drive off as much of the water as I could.  This is a very wet, sloppy pumpkin with not much taste I'm afraid.  About as much taste as a marrow and the same watery consistency.

 So after sieving pounds and pounds of it, I am leaving it for at least 24 hours to drain away some of the liquid.  There is just going to be tons and tons of it, I will give some away to neighbours, freeze some, make soup, make chutney, pumpkin pie.. but alas, quite a bit will be given to my lovely compost worms!!

Well, it is not all bad news.  This pumpkin was pollinated from a male Queensland Blue squash flower.   So this means that with a little luck and a following wind.. Matron may have bred an interesting hybrid for next year.  How do you like the sound of 'Matron's Queensland Giant'?  A giant pumpkin crossed with one of the most tasty and best textured pumpkin?  A giant and fantastic tasting pumpkin? who knows.  I am planning to set up a 'Just Giving' page and sell these seeds to raise money for my favourite charity Hounds for Heroes.  Keep watching this space!