Servatius Antonius, a history and geography teacher at North Monastery Secondary School in Cork city, who lives in Elton, near Knocklong, seems to have come up trumps again in growing what is possibly the biggest pumpkin in Ireland, writes John Barrett.
Some readers might remember that Servatius and a number of his friends built ‘Big Bill’, one of the tallest snowmen in the country during the heavy snowfall of January last. Now on the crest of another record, he explained to the Vale Star the process of growing the giant pumpkin: “The pumpkins were grown in my garden at Elton and not in a greenhouse. I sowed the seeds in early April at the kitchen window and planted it outside during mid-May. The secret is to grow seeds from a big pumpkin variety such as Atlantic Giants. As the plant gets bigger, you bury the vines and train them with bamboo sticks so the plant has enough air flow and will root into the soil. “The weight is basically unknown as it broke the weighing scales. My pumpkin of two years ago was 78kg, this one is nearly twice its size so I know it is over 100kg – nearly 16 stone. It took five people to lift it into the car. My school is North Monastery Secondary School in Cork city and I have called the pumpkin ‘The North Monster’ after the school. I hope to get some of my first year students to decorate the pumpkin before it returns to Elton this Friday for the Halloween celebrations in South Limerick. The locals, especially the kids, are going to love it,” Servatius Antonius added.