GROWING GIANT PUMPKINS

WAITSBURG - Gayle Broom's Growing Giant Pumpkins group blew the competition out of the water at this year's Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days. Weighing in at a whopping 211 pounds, the creamy white gourd was more than double the weight of its nearest competition, which was only 91 pounds.

Broom grew her first giant pumpkin last year, in hopes that local children would join her in the endeavor. "I wanted to teach kids to garden and grow their own organic produce. I thought pumpkins would be a neat way to do that because they are so dramatic," said Broom.

While a couple of children expressed interest, the project never quite got off the ground and Broom raised last year's pumpkin on her own, hoping it would spur interest for future years. Last year's pumpkin took first place as well, but weighed only 114 pounds, just 22 pounds above second place and not even close to the size of this year's entry.

Broom learned a lot from last year's experience and was joined in her farming efforts this year by 12-year-old Rebecca Whitehurst and 13-year-old Brayden Wood. The former environmental chemist (who says she would have become a biologist if there had been job openings at the time), provided students with informational notebooks in which to track their progress.

Broom received seeds when she joined the Pacific Northwest Giant Pumpkin Association and had purchased online some Holland's Giant seeds (which have the potential to produce 1,000 pound pumpkins). In April, the gardeners planted both sets on a bottom warmer in Broom's home, and then transplanted the seedlings outdoors in May. The Pumpkin Grower's seeds rotted away due to this year's high temperatures but the Holland's Giant seeds did well. The kids joined Broom throughout the summer to fertilize, determine ideal vine length and to cover the stems with soil to make more roots.

The biggest challenge of the entire season was transporting the gourd to the fair. A borrowed truck with a winch and a mesh bucket was used to lift the pumpkin. "Only about a quarter of the pumpkin actually fit in the bucket so we had to wrap the chains in quilts, sheets and towels to keep it from getting damaged," said Broom. "It took four big men to unload it at the fairgrounds."

Fairgrounds officials were afraid they were going to have to transport it to the animal barns for weighing, but found an old doctor-style scale that could handle the job. The 211 pound pumpkin won first place for size as well as a Special Award in its category.

Broom is hopeful that more children will participate next year and is already aware of several that are interested. "Next year we'll plant a bunch of different types of seeds and weed out the ones that are not doing well," said Broom. She's also curious to see just how big the pumpkin left in her plot will get. "It still has two months to grow!" she said.

Broom wishes to extend special thanks to Carol Weir who loaned her property, Richard Hinds who hauled a huge load of manure and Mark McGary who arranged the loading and transportation of the pumpkin.