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Growers to display giant pumpkins after Sat. weigh-off
By D.A. WILKINSON
CANFIELD
The Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers will be showing the biggest ones they have raised — so far — on Saturday.
These are not the pumpkins that get carved into jack-o’-lanterns and placed in a window.
Contestants must have their entries in by 9 a.m.
The weigh-off event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Parks Garden Center, 9010 state Route 62. The exhibits will be on display until 4 p.m.
The growers organization has 350 members, and Parks is a local weigh-off site for the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth that has more than 80 weigh-offs every year.
The Ohio and current world record holder is Christy Harp of Massillion at 1,725 pounds. The Pennsylvania record of 1,662.5 pounds is held by Dave and Carol Stelts of Edinburg, Pa.
Alan Gibson, the treasurer who prepares the newsletter for the organization, said, “That means about 10 percent difference, give or take.”
That also means, he added, that giant-pumpkin records could be broken.
The Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers have won the world pumpkin record in three of the last four years based on the average weight of its top 10 submissions.
These are pumpkins that grow by 40 to 50 pounds a day, take up a 500-square-foot growing area and need 80 gallons of water a day.
Growing bigger and better is a long tradition in American farming.
Bill Nepture of New Concord, Ohio, has an Ohio record for a watermelon that weighs 209.4 pounds.
There will be $25,000 in total prize money for the heaviest pumpkins, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, cantaloupe and longest gourd.
The heaviest pumpkin brings in a $5,000 prize.
Gibson said that big pumpkins are in demand by resorts, amusement parks and malls that want a splash in their decorations.
The growers organization makes its money by selling the seeds.
The quest for growing bigger pumpkins has become so popular that New Zealand and Australia are joining in.
Tim Parks, the site coordinator for the event and owner of the garden center, said the trend is becoming big in Europe.
However, Gibson and Parks agreed that the big pumpkins don’t make it as a table food for those who like pumpkin pie.
“It’s very watery,” Parks said.
For more information, visit www.ovgpg.com or www.bigpumpkins.com.