900-pound pumpkin takes top honors in Old Colorado City
The goal is to grow the heaviest squash or pumpkin but the real prizes are the smiles from kids and adults, said competitors in the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Saturday in Old Colorado City.
Super-sized pumpkins make even the crabbiest person smile, said Barry Todd of Littleton. One of his pumpkins took first place weighing in at 900 pounds, far outpacing those in second and third place.
“Even in the darkest times of my life, pumpkins make me smile,” he said.
Crowds checked out the monstrous squash, which came in all sizes, shapes and colors.
“I never saw a pumpkin that big,” said 5-year-old Kalena Beary. She said it would be fun to grow some of her own.
About 30 squash competed Saturday, with a forklift maneuvering the fruits onto a scale. It was the last of four such weigh-ins in Colorado.
“It’s a hobby that’s growing along with the size of the fruits,” said Gary Grande, president of the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers Club. “We try to grow bigger and better every year.”
Joe Scherber won second place with his squash weighing in at 628 pounds. Ken and Beth Barrett’s third-place winner weighed 430 pounds.
Marin Zalmanek, 21, and her family came out to the event. The weather, the sights and the activities made for a great day, she said.
“It’s a fall thing,” she said, adding that her young son thought the huge pumpkins were pretty cool.
The squash aren’t just for show, participants said. Erin Lewis, 32, said the huge pumpkins she and her boyfriend grow in Colorado Springs are carved up and displayed for Halloween.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s so much fun,” she said.
Todd gives a lot of pumpkin to churches, and his freezer is fully stocked for homemade dishes.
It’s not just pumpkins and other assorted squash. One gardener brought a 2.9-pound tomato to the weigh-in. That sounds big, but the world record is more than seven pounds, Grande said.
As for world’s heaviest pumpkin, a new record was set this year in Massachusetts when a pumpkin surpassed the one-ton mark, weighing in at 2,009 pounds.
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Contact Kristina Iodice: 636-0162 Twitter @GazetteKristina Facebook Kristina Iodice
The goal is to grow the heaviest squash or pumpkin but the real prizes are the smiles from kids and adults, said competitors in the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Saturday in Old Colorado City.
Super-sized pumpkins make even the crabbiest person smile, said Barry Todd of Littleton. One of his pumpkins took first place weighing in at 900 pounds, far outpacing those in second and third place.
“Even in the darkest times of my life, pumpkins make me smile,” he said.
Crowds checked out the monstrous squash, which came in all sizes, shapes and colors.
“I never saw a pumpkin that big,” said 5-year-old Kalena Beary. She said it would be fun to grow some of her own.
About 30 squash competed Saturday, with a forklift maneuvering the fruits onto a scale. It was the last of four such weigh-ins in Colorado.
“It’s a hobby that’s growing along with the size of the fruits,” said Gary Grande, president of the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers Club. “We try to grow bigger and better every year.”
Joe Scherber won second place with his squash weighing in at 628 pounds. Ken and Beth Barrett’s third-place winner weighed 430 pounds.
Marin Zalmanek, 21, and her family came out to the event. The weather, the sights and the activities made for a great day, she said.
“It’s a fall thing,” she said, adding that her young son thought the huge pumpkins were pretty cool.
The squash aren’t just for show, participants said. Erin Lewis, 32, said the huge pumpkins she and her boyfriend grow in Colorado Springs are carved up and displayed for Halloween.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s so much fun,” she said.
Todd gives a lot of pumpkin to churches, and his freezer is fully stocked for homemade dishes.
It’s not just pumpkins and other assorted squash. One gardener brought a 2.9-pound tomato to the weigh-in. That sounds big, but the world record is more than seven pounds, Grande said.
As for world’s heaviest pumpkin, a new record was set this year in Massachusetts when a pumpkin surpassed the one-ton mark, weighing in at 2,009 pounds.
—
Contact Kristina Iodice: 636-0162 Twitter @GazetteKristina Facebook Kristina Iodice
