Record-Journal
09-26-2007, 12:08 AM
Video of the Great Pumpkin being transported to the Durham Fair (http://www.mysunforums.com/content/RJ/content/myrj/video/hugepumpkin.wmv)
WALLINGFORD -- Listen up, Charlie Brown - Bart Toftness may just have the great pumpkin.
Toftness has grown a pumpkin in his backyard that he believes is "well in excess of 1,000 pounds" and plans to bring it to the Durham Fairgrounds today for its official weighing.
He hopes it is heavy enough to break the state record of 1,081 pounds, held by Raymond Leonzi, a Trumbull resident who set the record at a Connecticut Giant Squash & Pumpkin Growers Association weigh-off at Fairfield's Penfield Beach in 2005.
Toftness already owns the record for the state's fifth-heaviest pumpkin, after his 2005 specimen came in at 905.2 pounds at the Durham Fair, which will take place Friday through Sunday.
The world record for heaviest pumpkin is 1,502 pounds, set by Ron Wallace of Greene, R.I., in 2006.
"If this doesn't come in over 1,000 pounds, I'll be most disappointed," said Toftness, who works in computer networking for the Yale School of Medicine and added that he's never used his giant pumpkins for pumpkin pie.
"It's a fun little thing," said Leonzi, also the secretary of the Connecticut Giant Squash & Pumpkin Growers Association. "I really don't grow it for the records. I kind of want to be my best every year. It's a fun little group, but we all want to beat each other."
Toftness actually used the seeds from his 2005 pumpkin to grow his latest entry and began germinating the seeds in April. He built a small greenhouse around the plant, which was grown off roughly 650 square feet of vines. He pollinated the pumpkin on June 29.
"There's definitely a lot of work that goes into this," said Toftness, 61. "I probably spend two to three hours a day on it during the summer."
When the soil warms up, the pumpkin begins to grow at a "phenomenal rate." He said it could grow upwards of 30 pounds per day.
Toftness began growing several pumpkins in his backyard and waits to see how big they get before deciding which one to focus on for competition.
He said there are certain benchmarks to get an idea of how big a pumpkin can grow. A good competition pumpkin has a circumference of about 25 inches by the tenth day.
His pumpkin - a Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin - is now roughly 170 inches in circumference.
"It's a lot of fun, but it's really addicting," he said. "Every year, I learn from the previous year and try to grow the best pumpkin I can."
He began growing pumpkins in his yard about 10 years ago, just for fun, with his children. He then learned about giant pumpkins on the Internet and decided to try his luck.
His first entry in the Durham Fair in 1997 weighed 341 pounds. He took first place in the Durham Fair competition in 2001 with a pumpkin weighing 707 pounds.
"They're definitely fun," said Linda Piotrowicz, a marketing representative for the state Department of Agriculture.
"They're great for spectators and they represent a high degree of skill on the grower's part. They take so much time and effort and skill. It really is amazing to see the results of that work and it's fun for both the grower and the public."
Toftness says he spends hours watering, weeding and encouraging the plant growth and root structure of his pumpkins during the summer. He estimated he used 350 gallons of water a day to water his giant pumpkin over the summer.
Toftness plans to transport his pumpkin to Durham today with the aid of a friend and his friend's pickup truck. He has a large harness to fit around the pumpkin and has built a tripod out of 16-foot-long 4-by-4 lumber. He has also constructed two pallets to put in the truck bed because the pumpkin won't fit between the wheel wells.
If something goes wrong with his prize pumpkin during transport, he has a backup. He has grown another pumpkin in his yard he believes weighs roughly 1,000 pounds.
"I've got to have something to bring to Durham," he said of his backup.
He also has a few "porch pumpkins," which he said are way too small to enter into a competition, so he simply puts them on his porch before Halloween. His "porch pumpkins" weigh about 250 pounds.
WALLINGFORD -- Listen up, Charlie Brown - Bart Toftness may just have the great pumpkin.
Toftness has grown a pumpkin in his backyard that he believes is "well in excess of 1,000 pounds" and plans to bring it to the Durham Fairgrounds today for its official weighing.
He hopes it is heavy enough to break the state record of 1,081 pounds, held by Raymond Leonzi, a Trumbull resident who set the record at a Connecticut Giant Squash & Pumpkin Growers Association weigh-off at Fairfield's Penfield Beach in 2005.
Toftness already owns the record for the state's fifth-heaviest pumpkin, after his 2005 specimen came in at 905.2 pounds at the Durham Fair, which will take place Friday through Sunday.
The world record for heaviest pumpkin is 1,502 pounds, set by Ron Wallace of Greene, R.I., in 2006.
"If this doesn't come in over 1,000 pounds, I'll be most disappointed," said Toftness, who works in computer networking for the Yale School of Medicine and added that he's never used his giant pumpkins for pumpkin pie.
"It's a fun little thing," said Leonzi, also the secretary of the Connecticut Giant Squash & Pumpkin Growers Association. "I really don't grow it for the records. I kind of want to be my best every year. It's a fun little group, but we all want to beat each other."
Toftness actually used the seeds from his 2005 pumpkin to grow his latest entry and began germinating the seeds in April. He built a small greenhouse around the plant, which was grown off roughly 650 square feet of vines. He pollinated the pumpkin on June 29.
"There's definitely a lot of work that goes into this," said Toftness, 61. "I probably spend two to three hours a day on it during the summer."
When the soil warms up, the pumpkin begins to grow at a "phenomenal rate." He said it could grow upwards of 30 pounds per day.
Toftness began growing several pumpkins in his backyard and waits to see how big they get before deciding which one to focus on for competition.
He said there are certain benchmarks to get an idea of how big a pumpkin can grow. A good competition pumpkin has a circumference of about 25 inches by the tenth day.
His pumpkin - a Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin - is now roughly 170 inches in circumference.
"It's a lot of fun, but it's really addicting," he said. "Every year, I learn from the previous year and try to grow the best pumpkin I can."
He began growing pumpkins in his yard about 10 years ago, just for fun, with his children. He then learned about giant pumpkins on the Internet and decided to try his luck.
His first entry in the Durham Fair in 1997 weighed 341 pounds. He took first place in the Durham Fair competition in 2001 with a pumpkin weighing 707 pounds.
"They're definitely fun," said Linda Piotrowicz, a marketing representative for the state Department of Agriculture.
"They're great for spectators and they represent a high degree of skill on the grower's part. They take so much time and effort and skill. It really is amazing to see the results of that work and it's fun for both the grower and the public."
Toftness says he spends hours watering, weeding and encouraging the plant growth and root structure of his pumpkins during the summer. He estimated he used 350 gallons of water a day to water his giant pumpkin over the summer.
Toftness plans to transport his pumpkin to Durham today with the aid of a friend and his friend's pickup truck. He has a large harness to fit around the pumpkin and has built a tripod out of 16-foot-long 4-by-4 lumber. He has also constructed two pallets to put in the truck bed because the pumpkin won't fit between the wheel wells.
If something goes wrong with his prize pumpkin during transport, he has a backup. He has grown another pumpkin in his yard he believes weighs roughly 1,000 pounds.
"I've got to have something to bring to Durham," he said of his backup.
He also has a few "porch pumpkins," which he said are way too small to enter into a competition, so he simply puts them on his porch before Halloween. His "porch pumpkins" weigh about 250 pounds.