Posted on 08/12/2005 4:23:11 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) -- Dave Iles watched expectantly Tuesday night as his massive pumpkin was lifted onto the scale. The numbers just rolled by: 400 pounds, 500, 600 ... 700 ... finally coming to a rest at 752 pounds.
At first he thought there was something wrong with the scale. He thought his pumpkin would be maybe 540 pounds, tops. But 752 pounds and a new state record? He couldn't believe it.
"That's the first pumpkin I've ever grown," Iles said, who also broke the state record this year with a 60-pound marrow zucchini and holds a world record for a nearly 64-pound kohlrabi.
This year, his gargantuan squash had to be lifted to the scale by forklift, said Vanessa Spencer, Tanana Valley State Fair competition exhibit manager. "There were, like, eight guys trying to get that thing on the forklift," she said.
The previous state record for pumpkins was held by J.D. Megchelsen of Nikiski, whose squash weighed in at 707 pounds last year at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.
Iles, with a greenhouse in North Pole, uses an innovative - and top-secret- system, combining hydroponics and aeroponics.
"I'm trying to utilize the best of both worlds," Iles said.
Hydroponics grows vegetables without soil, only water, while aeroponics uses neither soil nor direct water, relying on nearly 100 percent humidity in the greenhouse.
Iles' unique system obviously shows some success, but it also has a few kinks to work out, he said. The pumpkin's massive plant structure, with leaves 38 inches across, crushed its own roots, perhaps stifling further growth. Next year, after a little tweaking, Iles doesn't know how big his pumpkin could be.
But he can't think about that now, with the state fair later this month to worry about.
The hearsay on the squash circuit is there could be some major competition in Palmer. But Iles said he's still got some surprises in his greenhouse. If girth means anything, he's got another pumpkin that could be 100 pounds heavier than this one.
"There's a possibility that I'll give them a run for their money," he said.
Pictures please!
Looking...
What!? No Pic? Gotta have a pic!
Well, there's a pumpkin Peter Pumpkin-Eater can keep his wife in very well...
No pictures yet online that I can find. If I do, I will let you know.
I want to see a picture of this pumpkin loaded in the back of a 1978 Datsun pickup. :)
Try anti-gravity.
That's no moon...
Please, Enough of the "South Park" references....j/k.
Maria Johnson of Fairbanks marvels at the size of the new state record pumpkin on display at the Tanana Valley State Fair on Wednesday. The 752-pound pumpkin was grown by Dave Iles, and broke the previous state record by more than 40 pounds.
Nice little pumpkins they grow in Alaska. This is what they grow in New Hampshire. 1,458 lbs. grown by Bruce and Mary Whittier of Henniker, NH.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.