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CLOUDY Temp: 61 °F Wind: WNW at 5 mph Monday, September 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 10, 2003 Since You Asked Behold, the massive pumpkin This summer I entered the exciting world of growing giant pumpkins. My largest pumpkin, Natasha, is currently at 350 pounds and growing. I’m wondering if there are any local pumpkin- growing contests I could enter. I’ll be waiting in the pumpkin patch for your answer. — Geneve S., Medford That’s some pumpkin you have there, Geneve, but you’re not ready for the big leagues just yet. This may come as a shock to you, but prize-winning pumpkins routinely tip the scales at 1,000 pounds these days. During the summer of 2002, a New Hampshire grower set a world record with a pumpkin that weighed 1,337 pounds. Advertisement We know of no local pumpkin contests, but you could try to search the World Wide Web for "giant pumpkin contest" and see what pops up. Our search turned up several contests in the Portland area on a Web site that bills itself as "the Internet shrine and library for pumpkins." You can see it yourself at:www.pumpkinnook.com on the Web. The Mail Tribune sponsored a big-pumpkin contest for several years and awarded prizes on the basis of girth, not weight — simply because we didn’t have a scale big enough to weigh the entries. The biggest pumpkin we ever saw was grown by Jerry Fuller of Medford during the summer of 2000. His pumpkin measured 140 inches in circumference, and probably weighed between 600 and 700 pounds (based on a time-tested weight-to-girth formula you can also see on the Pumpkin Nook site.) The newspaper’s contest fell by the wayside for several reasons, but mostly because a few growers regularly dominated the competition. There just weren’t enough people growing truly giant pumpkins! Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times