The World's Largest Pumpkin...

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Tir_Na_Nog Houston, United States(Zone 9b) Mar 08, 2006

Oh Great Pumpkin...where art thou?

Ok, my dear husband wants to grow the world's largest pumpkin (or at least the largest pumpkin this year in San Antonio). Have you any tips you've learned in trying to grow pumpkins? He has a pretty great garden system set up, raised beds to accomodate for our clay soil, a compost bin going, mulch around all the raised beds to maintain moisture, and he has a soaker hose sprinker system for each bed to maintain the same watering. Any other help you can give would be appreciated. =) Oh, and don't ask what we plan to do with it or how we'll get it out of the backyard. LOL, one step at a time, if we can grow a big pumpkin that'd be step numero uno.


This message was edited Jun 2, 2006 4:27 PM

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) Mar 08, 2006

The first step is to obtain seeds for a giant show pumpkin. Dill's Atlantic Giant is reccommended. Space, good soil and water of course. The record setting pumpkins are grown in Northern climates, In the south big pumpkins can be grown, but they are puny by northern standards.

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Tir_Na_Nog Houston, United States(Zone 9b) Mar 08, 2006

Thanks, already using the Dill Atlantic.

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Agrinerd Franklin, NC(Zone 6b) Mar 08, 2006

Good start. The warm nights and shorter days can limit their potential, though. If he has a good line of seeds, then he'll get 300 pounders with little effort, but the big ones take some work. Even with good seed, a local here in NC spends at least two hours tending his plants every morning and evening (one in the morning, one in the evening) and is still wresting to top the 700 pound mark. The world's record is more than twice that. The sites below will have some good info, as well as stats.

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/record.htm

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WorldRecords/

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Agrinerd Franklin, NC(Zone 6b) Mar 08, 2006

I just looked up the record for Texas. It was a 620 pounder grown by Audie Starkey of Mount Pleasant in 2001. I guess pumpkins are one of the few things that aren't bigger there... so far!

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Tir_Na_Nog Houston, United States(Zone 9b) Mar 08, 2006

Thanks for the history and info, the big pumpkins is a site we visit sometimes.

This message was edited Mar 8, 2006 3:55 PM

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Melissa_Ohio Southwestern, OH(Zone 6b) Mar 11, 2006

Here's one from a few years ago at the Circleville Pumpkin Show. This one that one was 897. Last year the winner was 950

Everyone that competes there has their closely guarded secrets, but we've heard for years and years that they water them with Milk, or feed them with milk by injecting into the vines... I've never grown one that big, so I don't know how true that is.

Here is the link to the Pumpkin Show

http://www.pumpkinshow.com/

Thumbnail by Melissa_Ohio
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Melissa_Ohio Southwestern, OH(Zone 6b) Mar 11, 2006

Here is a neat picture

http://www.pumpkinshow.com/image022.jpg

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