There's a teacher from Ohio who probably knows more about growing pumpkins than almost anyone else. She is Christy Harp, of Jackson Township, who won first place at the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growing Contest in Canfield, Ohio, on October 3, 2009. Her prize for growing a 1,725 pound pumpkin was $2,500.

For the moment at least, it appears that Harp's pumpkin holds the world's record. However, there are more pumpkin weigh-offs throughout the country coming up, so it won't be known whether Harp will keep her world record or not for at least a few more weeks.

Nine competitors, plus Harp, had to have their gargantuan pumpkins moved by forklift and then placed on a scale by a heavy-duty hydraulic hoist. When Harp's pumpkin outweighed all the others, she and her husband were lifted aloft by the competitors who heartily congratulated them on the win.

Harp has been growing the giant pumpkins for years. She had actually been doing it as a hobby on the family farm since she was an eighth grader, and she has entered the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin contest for the past seven years.

She and her husband, Nick, had their own private contest this year to see who could grow the largest gourd. Last year, he won by 200 pounds, but she beat him this year by 400 pounds.

Her secret? She says that along with packing the soil with compost, cow manure, and coffee grounds, she spent a lot of time pulling weeds out in the pumpkin patch. She also stated that the pumpkin, which is the size of a boulder, grew at a rate of about 33 pounds a day!

In 2007, Joe Jutras of North Scituate, Rhode Island held the record with a 1,689 pound pumpkin.

Harp will dry the pumpkin seeds and distribute them to anyone who wants them.

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Some facts about giant pumpkins

16 years ago, the heaviest pumpkin weighed only 403 pounds.

Howard Dill held the world record from 1979 to 1982. No one else has ever won the world championship more than once.

To give you an idea of the size of these giants (800-1,000 pounds), consider 1994's second largest pumpkin in the world measured 176 inches around or 14-1/2 feet. You can bake about 900 pumpkin pies from one of these behemoths.

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Source:

Some facts about giant pumpkins, courtesy of Don Langevin, How to Grow World Class Pumpkins (Annedawn Publishing, Box 247, Norton, MA 02766; 1993), $17.95.

Learn more about this author, Linda Joyce.
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