The Quest for the Great Pumpkin

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The Quest for the Great Pumpkin

• How Teamwork, Sharing Knowledge, and Alliances
  are creatingthe World Largest Pumpkins

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Global Competition to Grown the Giant
PumpkinObesity Triumphs Pumpkins have tripled
in weight in the last 25 yearsThe ONE TON
Pumpkin will arrive in a few years
Simon McKim, 2, of Rehobeth, Mass., checks out
the 1,443 pound champion pumpkin grown by Scott
Palmer of Coventry, R.I., at the Southern New
England Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off in Warren, R.I.,
on Monday, Oct. 10, 2005. Palmer's pumpkin set a
new New England record, just 3 pounds shy of the
World Record held by a Canadian from Ontario.
Maddison Harder, 3, climbs on Joel Holland's
prize-winning-record, 1,229-pound Atlantic Giant
pumpkin at the annual Safeway World Championship
Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif.,
Monday, Oct. 10, 2005. The pumpkin is 3 feet, 9
inches high. He wins 6,145 for his efforts, at
5 per pound. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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The Great Pumpkin Story 2005

• 1,443-Pound Pumpkin Wins CompetitionBy Sara
  Blask, Karen McCabe and other news reports
• October 11, 2005, Warren, RI Tis the season.
  The super-sized pumpkin season. Scott Palmer took
  top honors at the 12th annual Rhode Island
  Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Growers
  Championship yesterday with a behemoth entry
  weighing 1,443 pounds, making it the third
  heaviest pumpkin ever weighed. Palmer was one
  of 33 entrants in yesterdays contest held at
  Frerichs Farm in Warren, Rhode Island. Weigh-off
  competitions are held in the United States,
  Canada, Germany, and Japan. Entrants arrive at
  the farm on weigh day, lugging their oversize
  fruit in on trucks and trailers, where a forklift
  awaits the pumpkins arrival as if its royalty.
  From there, the pumpkins are placed in a ring and
  then weighed by a certified technician. Best
  day of my life. I got my family here, helped me
  grow it all year, what else is there to say?
  Palmer, a welder, told the Associated Press. A
  3,500 check made Palmers victory all the
  sweeter. Its really family-oriented, this
  sport of pumpkin growing, said David Frerichs,
  owner of Frerichs Farm, There are many
  inter-family competitions, as well as husband and
  wife competitions. Usually the rule is that the
  other person has to buy dinner. I think the wife
  won this year. Frerichs estimates that the
  entrants pumpkins weighed a combined total of
  ten tons. Competitors can use a tape measure to
  approximate the weight of the pumpkin but are
  forbidden from weighing their pumpkin before the
  contest. Palmer missed the world record by a
  mere three pounds. A 1,446-pound pumpkin was
  grown last year by Al Eaton in Ontario, Canada.
  Guys all over the country will now want some
  Scotty Palmer seeds, Frerichs said.
• Steven Sperry of Johnston Rhode Island was the
  2004 giant winner with a 1,253-pound pumpkin, and
  Fred Macari of Coventry, R.I., placed second with
  a 1,173.4-pound pumpkin. Some giant-pumpkin
  growers spend thousands of dollars and some spend
  a few hundred on what many refer to as their
  obsession. Its roots may have begun in Canada,
  with a man named Howard Dill, and the craze
  appears to have spread from Canada to Australia
  and almost every continent in between over the
  past 20 years

• Most prized pumpkins are Atlantic Giants,
  developed by Howard Dill, a farmer in Nova
  Scotia, about 30 years ago. The seeds, now
  cultivated on 20 acres, are distributed by more
  than 50 seed companies worldwide. They are sold
  on the Internet at www.howarddill.com. ''It's
  just amazing to me how this has taken off," Dill,
  71, said by telephone from Nova Scotia. ''People
  all over the world dedicate their whole growing
  season to this.
• Although somewhere along the line a Dill seed got
  them growing, giant pumpkins can also be grown
  from the seeds of a past giant gourd. Growers
  scoop out seeds, dry them, and plant them the
  next season. Cross-pollination has also led to
  pumpkins tripling in weight since Howard Dill
  himself set a world record with a 438.5-pound
  pumpkin in 1979 in Philadelphia.
• Pumpkins thrive on organic matter. While there is
  no contest ban on artificial fertilizers,
  pumpkins grow best with cow manure, compost, and
  seaweed as fertilizer. Growing a giant pumpkin
  requires a lot of time, patience, and money. From
  April to September, growers spend as much as 50
  hours a week fertilizing, weeding, pruning, and
  adding as much as 50 gallons of water a day in
  August, the peak growing season, when the
  pumpkins can gain 35 to 40 pounds a day or more,
  growers said.
• Farmers often track the pedigree of their
  pumpkins by figuring out where their seeds
  originated. In fact, people often auction their
  big pumpkin seeds on the Web site,
  www.bigpumpkins.com, which aims to promote the
  exciting sport/hobby of giant pumpkin growing by
  helping new comers get started.
• The challenge to grow giant pumpkins is time
  consuming, intensive and rewarding but can
  sometimes be downright disappointing. "Theres
  a lot of luck involved, and my family and I have
  been extremely lucky," Daignault, winner of the
  Topsfield contest said, "You can do everything
  right and things can still go wrong." His
  family has had pumpkins rot from the inside from
  too much watering. One hailstorm can destroy a
  seasons work too much rain wont leave enough
  time to fertilize, and drastic changes in the
  weather can cause the pumpkins to split and
  explode.

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The Quest for the Great PumpkinInnovation can be
a Back Yard Affair

• Its about Co-opetition!
• WARREN, Rhode Island Dick Wallace, director
  for the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin
  Growers Association (SNEGPGA), said there is
  "quite a contingency of growers in Rhode
  Island."Wallace said the SNEGPGA works with a
  goal for the common club. He described the group
  as being "like a band of brothers," but added
  that each member has to do their own work in
  their patches. However, if a grower is in
  trouble, they have other members who are willing
  to help out.Wallace said the SNEGPGA had
  members competing in individual competition but
  said they also compete as a club against other
  Giant Pumpkin clubs.The 12th Annual Rhode
  Island Giant Pumpkin Growers Championship, held
  at Frerichs Farm in Warren, was the number one
  weigh-off of 26 sites worldwide under the Giant
  Pumpkin Community banner. According to Wallace,
  this year's weigh-off in Warren broke the world
  record for the average of the top 10 pumpkins'
  weights with a mean of 1,174.8 pounds. He said
  the top 10 included one pumpkin over 1,400
  pounds, three over 1,300 pounds and "a couple"
  over 1,200 pounds. Scott Palmer, winner of this
  years contest, said he met Wallace three years
  ago and that one of the first things the director
  did was sit with him in his garden and show him
  what he needed to do to grow giant
  pumpkins."I'll never forget any of that stuff,"
  Palmer said. He said members often visit and
  help one another and described the group as
  close-knit. Palmer said that the SNEGPGA had
  worked hard all year holding fund raisers and
  that Wallace and other directors have brought the
  club to "another level.

• The Ipswich Bay Pumpkin Growers, a group formed
  last year by a handful of growers from Ipswich
  and Topsfield, regularly get together. Their
  official uniform is a denim shirt with a pumpkin
  logo.They swap seeds and planting tips. They
  talk about the newest fertilizers, and lament
  high water bills. They also are pumpkin
  ambassadors, hosting picnics for members of the
  New England Pumpkin Growers Association, , a
  group of about 140 members, based in New
  Hampshire.They go on peeping tours of each
  other's patches. And on the day before the
  Topsfield Fair, they use a homemade
  crane-and-pulley, to help each other hoist the
  giant orbs into pickup trucks. And then it's off
  to the fair.''There aren't that many people
  interested in growing world-class pumpkins," said
  Lancaster, 59, an eight-year grower, whose
  1,100-pounder placed eighth at the Topsfield
  Fair. ''We all pretty much help each
  other.Growers are typically not professional
  farmers, but average people who work other jobs
  and use small acreage plots to grow their
  pumpkins as a hobby.

Warren is the Smallest Town in the Smallest
County in the Smallest State in the US
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What you BELIEVE affects the OUTCOME
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What you BELIEVE affects the OUTCOME
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What you BELIEVE affects the OUTCOME
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What you BELIEVE affects the OUTCOME
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What you BELIEVE affects the OUTCOME
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2006 World Largest Pumpkin!1502 lbs

• Ron Wallace from Scituate, Rhode Island

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• 2006 - Ron Wallace and his 1502 pound World
  Record! See the collection of photos
  submitted...Created on 10/14/2006 ----- Last
  updated on 10/14/2006 2005 - Larry Checkon and
  his 1,469 pound World Record! See the collection
  of photos submitted...Created on 10/1/2005 -----
  Last updated on 10/3/2005 2004 - Al Eaton and
  his 1,446 pound World Record! See the collection
  of photos submitted...Updated with Scott Cully's
  carvings...Created on 10/11/2004 ----- Last
  updated on 11/12/2004 2003 - Steve Daletas and
  his 1,385 pound World Record! See the collection
  of photos submitted... Created on 10/5/2003
  ----- Last updated on 10/5/2003 2002 - Charlie
  Houghton and his 1337.6 pound World Record See
  the collection of photos submitted... Created on
  10/31/2002 ----- Last updated on 10/31/2002
  2001 - Geneva Emmons and her 1262 pound World
  Record See the collection of photos
  submitted...Created on 10/14/2001 ----- Last
  updated on 10/14/2001 2000 - Dave Stelts and
  his 1140 pound World Record See the collection
  of photos submitted...Created on 10/10/2000
  ----- Last updated on 10/10/2000

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• 1,502.00 Wallace, Ron Greene Rhode Island United
  States
• 1,450.00 Wallace, Dick Greene Rhode Island
• Most championship pumpkin growers plant in April
  with special seeds, keeping them warm in the
  first weeks and then gorging the squash with
  water and sunlight. Many are of the Atlantic
  Giant species (cucurbita maxima) and can gain
  more than a pound of weight every hour in the
  months before being picked. Some of the growers
  spend hours every day tending to their pumpkins,
  which can thrive on plots as small as 500 square
  feet. Holland, who toted a video camera during
  the contest, sells DVDs with his growing secrets
  and produces seeds that are coveted by other
  growers.

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• OK Charlie Brown, you have nothing to compare to
  Rhode Islands giant pumpkin. On October 11,
  2003, the State held its 10th annual
• giant pumpkin championship at Frerichs Farm in
  Warren, RI. While rumors were being heard there
  might be a pumpkin grown right here in the Ocean
  State weighing over a half a ton, it was
  difficult to believe. Who could imagine a pumpkin
  weighing a 1000 pounds. When pumpkins were being
  unloaded for the weigh in, everyone in
  attendance was mesmerized by orange color and
  behemiths of pumpkins.
• Frerichs Farm provide a setting and aura for a
  spectacular fall day. The Farm provided hayrides,
  small pumpkin painting, and face painting for the
  children. Adults had the opportunity to purchase
  fall mums, sugar pumpkins, fresh vegetables, and
  visit the Christmas Shop. There was something for
  both young and older a like to enjoy. Nothing can
  compare in watching a young child or adult
  viewing their first site of a giant pumpkin. But
  the site of viewing a new Rhode Island record for
  a giant pumpkin is impossible to describe. In
  fact, has the Frerichs tractor was ready to
  unload its new record pumpkin from a truck it
  appeared this would be one unusual and difficult
  task. Finally, the tractor lifted the pumpkin out
  of the truck and suddenly appeared a beautiful
  huge bright orange pumpkin. Sometimes pumpkins
  may be large, but lack that bright orange color.
  It is important to note, a giant pumpkin must be
  a minimum of eighty percent orange. If a pumpkin
  is less than eighty percent orange, it is
  considered a squash. Rhode Islands Giant Pumpkin
  Championship had over 40 entries. From large to
  larger, it was evident Rhode Island was about to
  break a State record. A 1222.5 pound pumpkin
  grown by Joe Jutra of Scituate, RI took the new
  State record and this years Castellucci Cup.
  John Castellucci started the Rhode Island State
  Championship just ten years ago. The State named
  the Cup after him. Mr. Castellucci won the cup
  last year with a 951 pound pumpkin. Each year,
  the Castellucci Cup is forwarded and presented to
  the individual who grew the largest pumpkin in
  the State.
• No one ever dreamed, just ten years ago, Rhode
  Island would ever grow a pumpkin weighing over
  1222 pounds. Now, the real question is, when will
  the Ocean State grow a giant pumpkin weighing
  more than 1500 pounds?
• Attend and watch next years Rhode Island Giant
  Pumpkin Championship at Frerichs Farm on October
  9, 2004. A new State record is more than likely
  to occur. Congratulations go out to all Rhode
  Island giant pumpkin growers for a great year.
• The Rhode Island Great Pumpkin Contest Results
• Rhode Island DEM
• Jan H. Reitsma, Director
• 235 Promenade St.
• Providence, RI 02908
• Vol. 2, No. 3
• Visit us at www.state.ri.us/dem

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• According to Gail Damerow, author of The Perfect
  Pumpkin, competitive pumpkin growing got its
  start in 1893 when William Warnock of Goderivch,
  Ontario, Canada grew a 365-pound pumpkin. He
  broke his world record two more times, each time
  displaying his world record-breaking pumpkin at
  the Worlds Fair. In 1905, Warnock wrote down the
  basics of growing colossal pumpkins, and these
  basics are still followed today by giant pumpkins
  growers 101 years later.Dills Atlantic Giant is
  the most popular pumpkin seed used by competitive
  growers.