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 Pumpkins
are a huge symbol of Halloween! You can carve them, bake them, decorate
with them and eat the seeds! The Jack-O-Lantern started as an old Celtic
custom on Samhain, using a turnip carved out and filled with a glowing
coal. Now days, we carve pumpkins and use candles or battery powered
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Pumpkin Weigh Offs - The New Past Time
by Cameron Conner, staff writer, 2008
Growing giant pumpkins has become a
big business for people all over the country. It's quite the status
symbol to grow the world record holding pumpkin, after all!
Last year, 2007, Joe Jutrus from North Scituate, Rhode
Island, brought his 1689 pound pumpkin to the Topsfield Fair GPC Weigh
Off in Topsfield, Ma. held on September 29, 2007. His pumpkin holds the
new world record, beating the previous world record by 187 pounds.
In 2006 it was Ron Wallace with a 1502 pound
pumpkin at the Rhode Island Weigh Off on October 7, 2006. His was a
world record holder for a year. The year before, 2005, Larry Checkon of
North Cambria, Pennsylvania took the world winner honor with a pumpkin
that weighed in at 1,469 pounds on October 1, 2005 at the Pennsylvania
Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh Off.
Pumpkin Weigh Offs are popping up all
over the country with more being held every year. People that have never
been much at growing anything seem to be taking interest in growing
pumpkins for carving and also for the prestige of being the world record
holder. In the United States
you'll find
The
World Pumpkin Confederation (WPC). Do a Google search under "Pumpkin
Growers" and you'll find listings for associations in many states. There
are giant pumpkin growers associations not only all over the U.S. but in
other countries around the world as well. The
Australasian Giant Pumpkin and Vegetable Society (AGPVS),
Giant Vegetable Growers of
Ontario (GVGO) are but two of the listings for world organizations.
The Atlantic Giant seems to be, by far, the most used
type of pumpkin to grow the giant record holders. And growing a pumpkin
patch does take some patience, after all, they are delicate little guys
when they first start to grow! You have to have the right soil
conditions, the right balance of moisture, sunlight, temperature and
lets not forget keeping that pesky mold away!
Growing your own giant pumpkin can be a rewarding and
fulfilling activity to keep summer boredom at bay. And it always seems
to help if you take home first prize at your local fair. Let's hope this
trend continues and we see bigger and better pumpkins every year winning
more world records for largest pumpkin ever grown!
For more information on pumpkins and growing, stop by
The Pumpkin
Patch
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Every
year, Halloween enthusiasts anxiously await the retail
industry to begin their Halloween season and see who's
first to stock products for the spooky season. Many
stores begin stocking Halloween products as early as
July! |
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