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@@@ 鈥淲e never thought anything like this was going to happen,鈥?Hawkley said. 鈥淚t just kept growing.鈥? More than 40 years ago, the champion pumpkin came in at 132 pounds. Since then, a breed of California growers has nurtured a delicate art, putting in hours of work each day to keep their pumpkins swelling. When tended to correctly, some gourds can gain 50 pounds in a single day. Daily caregiving Hawkley started growing his monster on Easter and spent every day nurturing it. He cut the vine Sunday before making the drive south for the weigh-off. When he arrived, the pumpkin sagged on the bed of his truck before a crew came to forklift it onto the stage. Rob Globus, whose pumpkin took second place at a mere 1,740 pounds, spent more than 600 hours with his pumpkins this year, refusing to stray far from his home in Walnut Grove (Sacramento County). The trade, he said, requires a balancing of a pumpkin鈥檚 needs. Globus, who took up the hobby after retirement, said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 worse than a full-time job. A full-time job you get to go home.鈥? Off the weighing stage, there鈥檚 a whole economy 鈥?and, increasingly, a Web community 鈥?around pumpkin growing. A tight-knit group of experts buys, sells and trades seeds, testing new hybrids to see what concoctions produce the heartiest fruit. 鈥橧t鈥檚 stressful鈥? There are also strict rules. An organization dubbed the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth regulates weigh-offs worldwide, ensuring among other things that the gourds are healthy. Any holes, of any size, disqualify a pumpkin from competition.
of Santa Rosa learned this the hard way Monday. His 1,828-pound pumpkin had a pit in the bottom that tossed him from what would have been a second-place standing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 stressful growing stuff like this,鈥?Pugh said. That may be, but Pugh was already planning to chop up his pumpkin, harvest its seeds and start the process over again for next year. Though Monday marked the first time the Half Moon Bay contest had seen a pumpkin of more than 2,000 pounds, event organizer said it was a slower year, in part because of the drought. 鈥淓ach grower had more pumpkins last year, so they took them to more competitions,鈥?Mello said. The five heaviest pumpkins will be on display Saturday and Sunday at the Half Moon Bay Art Pumpkin Festival on Main Street. Then they鈥檒l be shipped off to the highest bidders. Mike Vallado, who sported a 鈥淲orld Class Pumpkin Carver鈥?jacket, waited near the stage with a carving knife. He plans to turn one of the heaviest pumpkins into a jack-o鈥?lantern. Gourd gossip A rumor floating around the weigh-in said a woman from Google planned to buy some of the big winners. Others will go to a 鈥減umpkin broker鈥?who sells the gourds off to various buyers. Kit Welsh, a Half Moon Bay resident who鈥檚 attended the pumpkin weighings for more than 20 years, said she expects the pumpkins will just keep growing. 鈥淭hey always get bigger,鈥?Welsh said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how, but they always do.鈥?
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