Giant pumpkin sets Canfield Fair record

CANFIELD -- The largest pumpkin ever seen at the Canfield Fair is on display this year as the grand champion, weighing in at a whopping 1,693 pounds.

In almost each year since 1988, when the largest pumpkin weighed in at 270 pounds, the grand champion has been bigger than the year before. This year, the winning pumpkin was entered by Ben McMillin. The reserve champion was entered by Chuck Greathouse and weighed in at 1,538, which is 200 pounds heavier than the 2021 grand champion.

While anyone can enter a pumpkin at the fair, most who do are members of the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers. The group was founded over 25 years ago by a group of people who had gotten to know one another through regularly entering giant pumpkins at the fair. OVGPG Director Tim Parks said if not for the fair, the group would never have been created.

"By working together and trading seeds, we've learned we can grow bigger pumpkins," Parks said. "We've built a real camaraderie."

The group was founded to give growers the opportunity to come together and learn more about best practices for gardening.

OVGPG hosts two seminars a year. The first is in February and is aimed at those who are new to growing giant pumpkins. The second is the advanced seminar in March. Parks said all gardeners could learn a thing or two to enhance their skills, even if they are not trying to grow a crop whose weight is in the thousands.

When the club began, Parks said many people around the country and the world counted them out because they did not think Ohio was great for growing giant crops as other areas were. But, OVGPG, which is now one of three giant pumpkin-growing organizations in the Buckeye State, has members that Parks thinks bring a special enthusiasm and goodwill to the growing game.

They all do it because they have fun growing and learning together. He said he has no worries about the future of the organization, because while the eight directors may have been growing for a long time, a lot of new members bring just as much enthusiasm, along with new tactics. Many of them are able to use technology and predictions to attempt to perfect the craft.

OTHER WEIGH-OFFS

The organization will have two to three other weighoffs this year, the final being the OVGPG weighoff, which is always the second Saturday of October. People from all over the region come, some as far as New York and the Carolinas. Parks said this is a testament to the fact that his organization competes at a "different level."

"This is more or less the World Series of gardening," Parks said. "It's intense. It's hard work. But, it just comes down to good growing practices."

Last year, the world's heaviest pumpkin was grown in Italy and weighed in at 2,700 pounds. The seed for that pumpkin came from a member of OVGPG.

For those who think growing a giant pumpkin sounds like a lot of fun, the organization is selling seed packets. All seeds come from a pumpkin that weighed 700 to 1,000 pounds.

Parks cautioned that growing giant pumpkins is a lot of work, but also said it is something anyone can enjoy. He said the most important thing to do before getting started is to do plenty of research to know what one is getting themselves into. Growing giant pumpkins is a year-round hobby. The ground must be prepared in the fall, but the seed is not planted until April.

"What we're doing is nothing special," Parks said. "It's just knowing biology and using that knowledge to grow the best crops."

He said one of the best ways to learn is to come to the group's beginners seminar in February.