#giantpumpkin

#giantpumpkin

Giant Pumpkin Breaks Pennsylvania RecordIt's that time of year again, time for fall festivals and enormous pumpkins! The Barnesville Pumpkin Festival in Barnesville, Ohio, has crowned a new King Pumpkin. Erik Sunstrom managed to transport a 2,405-pound pumpkin from his home in Harrison City, Pennsylvania, to the festival and take this year's prize. The pumpkin outweighed last year's festival winner by more than 200 pounds, and set a record for the biggest pumpkin ever grown in Pennsylvania by 46 pounds. Sunstrom said he and his family has spent around 30 hours a week caring for the pumpkin to get it to that magnificent size. The festival retains the winning pumpkin, while Sunstrom takes home a plaque and bragging rights, plus $2 a pound for the pumpkin, which will be $4,810. That should cover next year's fertilizer bill. He will also eventually receive 75% of the seeds from his monster pumpkin. The Barnesville Pumpkin Festival continues through Sunday. -via Fark(Image credit: Belmont County Tourism) #pumpkin #giantpumpkin #pumpkinfestival

Grow Giant Pumpkins for Giant Jack O'LanternsMost people don't think about carving a pumpkin for a Halloween Jack O'Lantern until October. But if you start preparing in the spring, you could have the most talked-about genuine Halloween pumpkin in town. Instructables member birddogpumpkins grew a 250-pound pumpkin the first year he tried! The second year, he added fertilizer and some extra tips and grew a 520-pound gourd. While those won't win state fair competitions, they will give you plenty of room to carve an awesome Jack O'Lantern face that everyone will want to pose for a picture with, and as a bonus, a giant Jack O'Lantern is very hard to steal. But if you want to give growing giant pumpkins a try, now is the time to get started. You'll find birddogpumpkins' experiences and recommended instructions at Instructables. You can do it the simple way or use advanced methods. I will add my advice about gardening: don't worry too much about the outcome. All you need to do is get rid of your failures and highlight your successes, and no one will know any better. Who knows? You might start a hobby that will last a lifetime. (Image credit: birddogpumpkins)#pumpkin #giantpumpkin #jackolanternSee also: Timelapse Video of a Giant Pumpkin Growing from Seed