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Knopp, Germany

in 2001 i wanted to grow some carving pumpkins for my son. the next year i decided to purchase something called "Dills Atlantic Giant" from Johnny's.Com. I got a 165 pounder that year and found this website while searching for information on these "Giants". The rest is history.

i just thought it might be interesting to hear how the rest of you got hooked.

4/6/2005 10:19:23 AM

Berlin,mi.(zuhlke2@hotmail.com)

Hey Owen I have a pretty good story about how I got started. A guy at work showed me an article in the paper about a 885 lb. pumpkin. Turns out to be at a produce farm I pass on my way home. I stopped to take a look at it and I thought to myself that I would like to get a seed from it to grow. When passing buy on halloween I noticed they had carved it, so I stopped buy to see if I could get some seeds. The carvings were in a wheelbarrow and I asked if I
I could look for seeds. The guy working said ok. I found one seed in the carvings and I took it home , dried it, and planted it in 2004.I grew my 570lb. pumpkin on it and now i'm hooked.

4/6/2005 3:21:20 PM

Bristol, ME (stunner906@roadrunner.com)

When I was but a little 'seedling' my parents used to take me to a fair that always had a 'big pumpkin' on display. Back then 200lbs was pretty big around here. So my Dad and I decided to try to grow one. We didn't do much more than pick a spot, scuff up the dirt and toss in a big max. Needless to say we didn't do very well. Years later, I had my own place where we had grown a garden for years. I decided it might be fun to try to grow a few pumpkins for our 3 boys. The patch was only 10' x 10', big max again. One literally shattered in the summer sun and the other grew to a staggering 20lbs. I figured there had to be some info online about growing big ones. It was then I found bigpumpkins.com. I grew a 209lber that year. After alot of coaching from the BP gang, a patch expansion and alot of sweat, we broke through in 2003 with one that weighed 906.2lbs. Who knew way back when at that fair that an interest that turned into a hobby would become an obsession.
But like everyone, I was warned of the impending addiction.

4/6/2005 4:40:42 PM

Hobbiton New Zealand

i was at the local show had a enough beer inside to make me superman and said with all my mates standing around me I could grow a bigger one than that and they all heard and would not drop the topic so I have been doing pumpkins for 4 years now. It took 3yrs to grow the biggest at the show.

4/6/2005 5:32:41 PM

Midway City, California

Just like Darky I opened my Big Mouth and told the people I work with I was going to grow a 1000 lb pumpkin. They all laughed at me. Biggest I have grown is 650 lbs but they have stopped laughing at me

4/6/2005 6:48:44 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

I got bored with the puny fruit that I was growing last year. I was so bad at growing regular pumpkins that, naturally, I figured I'd try growing something more difficult :-)

I really got hooked when I went to the Niagara weigh-off at Howell's Family Farm. There is just something awe-inspiring about standing next to a 1000+ pound pumpkin.

4/6/2005 8:25:43 PM

Halifax, Nova Scotia

It cost me $100 to buy a pumpkin to use in the Windsor Regatta. I did some math and decided it was much better to spend about $500 putting a garden in, buying seeds, equipment etc. (so far) to grow one myself. I suck at math.

4/6/2005 9:38:41 PM

Windsor, Nova Scotia Canada

Hey Ryan. Maybe if you grow enough pumpkins this year, sell them for the regatta, you will get your money back. That math formula may work better.

4/7/2005 9:55:26 AM