Quest for the Giant Pumpkin

Chad Gehweiler, Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off organizer and avid pumpkin grower, reached out to his friend Brian Potter of WIScale for a certified scale. According to the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC), the regulating body for giant fruits and vegetables, a certified scale “is the single most important item you need at your weigh-off.” Each site requires a 4 X 4 foot (or larger) platform scale with a current certification sticker that has been calibrated by a licensed weights and measurement business. Guinness World Records requires that certification to qualify for an official world record. Potter immediately knew what scale could handle half-ton and heavier pumpkins: Rice Lake’s RoughDeck floor scale. Potter says, “The RoughDeck has a low profile with a lot of steel; it’s very industrial.” Accompanying the RoughDeck was the 480 Legend Series digital weight indicator. Designed for protection in dirty, wet environments, the 480 scale indicator withstands higher levels of electrical noise, power disturbances and transient spikes than its predecessors. Two serial ports with local/remote function connect with ease to displays like the LaserLight Series. Packed with power but economically priced, the 480 is ruggedly durable and easy to pair with any scale or display.

An accurate scale was only one part of the competition. Entries included tomatoes, long gourds, watermelons, field pumpkins and of course, the guaranteed crowd pleaser, giant pumpkins. The crowd, gathered from all over Oktoberfest, wanted to see what mattered most to them: the numbers. Using the LaserLight Series remote display, large bright red digits wowed the onlookers; first with a five pound tomato. Then, the numbers grew with a 125 pound watermelon, a 141.5 pound field pumpkin and finally, a 1,479 pound giant pumpkin.

Using a skid steer and a homemade harness, each pumpkin was delicately lifted one by one like a newborn baby being placed in their mother’s arms. In a dramatic turn of events, it was discovered a stem had broken off of one contender’s pumpkin at the patch. According to the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the stem was no longer eligible to be weighed with the pumpkin. Just to add salt to the wound, event organizers weighed the stem after the pumpkin’s weight was officially entered into the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth’s database; a solid 2.5 pounds. For those hoping to break a world record, 2.5 pounds easily separates first and second place.

Other regulations regarding the competition included each pumpkin being inspected and measured by a site judge. There can be no holes in the pumpkin nor can it be manipulated to weigh heavier. All data is tracked by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth and prize money can range anywhere between $1,000 and $30,000, depending on the size and location of the competition.

Gehweiler recommends three things for those hoping to one day grow giant pumpkins: hard work, organic soil additives and carefully selected seeds. It may come as a surprise, but giant pumpkin seeds are bred much like prize horses or dogs. They are identified by their grower’s last name, the weight of the pumpkin it was bred from, as well as the weight and year grown of the male pollinator plant and the female seed it was grown from. Buyers can purchase seeds via the Internet or through personal connections with prices varying anywhere between $10 a seed to $1,600 a seed. In addition to choosing the right seeds, Gehweiler also recommends using natural soil boosters and dry, organic fertilizers from The GreenGro™ in Windsor, Calif. “At the end of the day,” Gehweiler says, “these pumpkins are all trained to grow a certain size and pattern.” The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth is also an excellent resource for a beginner’s journey into giant pumpkin cultivation. They give advice on site selection, soil, seeds, transplantation, plant care, watering and finally, rules and regulations regarding certified weigh-offs.

Quest for the Giant Pumpkin

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