Pumpkins weigh in heavily

The largest pumpkin weighed in at more than 1,556 pounds.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

GREEN — Quinn Werner of Saegertown, Pa., seems to have a knack for growing very large pieces of orange fruit.

Werner trailered a 1,556-pound pumpkin, which he spent several months growing, to Parks Garden Center here for the 13th annual Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers weigh-off Saturday.

He walked away with a $2,500 prize for the largest pumpkin. It was Werner’s fourth time winning the top prize for growing the largest pumpkin.

Werner, who has been involved in growing large pumpkins for nine years, actually trailered a total 10 pumpkins to the competition ranging in size from about 1,000 pounds to the 1,556-pound winner.

After competition, Werner said his family takes the pumpkins back to the house and carves them up, taking pictures of the younger kids as they play in the massive shells.

He said there are no real secrets to growing the huge pumpkins.

“The only secret is hard work and researching the whole thing out,” he said. “It’s like anything else: The harder you work the better your results are going to be.”

Werner’s was not the only scale-tipping pumpkin on the garden grounds Saturday. Several other pumpkins tipped the scale at more than 1,000 pounds.

Tim Parks, Parks Garden Center owner, said it was a record-breaking day.

“Last year we set the world record for top 10 pumpkins weighed in one weigh-off, at 12,080 pounds for all 10 pumpkins. This year we re-set the record at 14,060 pounds or a top 10 average of 1,406 pounds per pumpkin,” said Parks.

Dozens of spectators sat on bales of hay in the garden center parking lot watching as a hoist lifted each pumpkin to get an exact weight.

Parks explained that members of the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers do a lot more than sit around looking at big fruit.

The group, with 300 dues-paying members, sponsors two seminars a year — one for beginner growers and another for those with some growing experience.

“We share seeds, growing techniques and all that kind of stuff. We do that in the winter, and in the summer we have a tour and picnic so people can see what is going on, see the different techniques and stuff,” said Parks.

Parks said most of the pumpkin growers start the process in early July and the pumpkins “grow from nothing to 1,500 pounds in three months. They sometimes grow as much as 60 pounds a day.”

One could eat the large pumpkins, Werner said, but he wouldn’t recommend it if good taste is what the person is after. He said the large pumpkins are grown for size, not taste — or anything else.

Other large pieces of fruit decorated the garden grounds Saturday. Tomatoes, melons and a watermelon weighing almost 200 pounds were all part of the festivities.

XFor an online photo gallery, visit http://new.vindy.com/photos/galleries/2007/oct/06/giant-pumpkins/

jgoodwin@vindy.com