Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one. Not only did he set a personal record with his giant pumpkin this year, he also broke the Port Elgin Pumpkinfest site record last weekend and took home $3,300 in prize money. Every fall, he straps a giant gourd he has spent the summer growing onto a trailer and trucks it around 600 kilometres south to compete in the Saugeen Shores festival. “When we’re driving down the road, we want people to see it right? No one will drive by you and not be able to smile,” Warner said. “So when you’re driving, you get lots of thumbs up.” He said he’s lost track of how many times he’s competed—he thinks around 15 years—and this year was the most exciting event yet. His ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant Pumpkin’ weighed in at 1,966.5 pounds. “So it’s a personal best out of my patch by quite a bit. It was 1,805, (last time) so I kind of crushed my own record,” he said. “It ended up beating a couple other records at the same time, so that’s fun.” Warner took home top prize, $3,200 cash in the pumpkin Category and also won first place in the ‘Sunflower Face’ category with a 26-inch blossom, earning him $100. Another benefit of growing the big gourds is the motivation to get outside more. “(It) just gets you off the couch in the evening,” Warner said. Seed sharing Anyone else wanting to challenge Warner next year is welcome to sow their own behemoth with a seed from this year’s winner. “I just have random people ask for a seed, so I hook them up … trying to get more people to grow giant pumpkins,” said Warner. Some of the best ways to encourage growth are to keep it free of weeds, well-watered and fertilized, he said. Warner’s giant pumpkin will live out its time on his farm and be on display during the Aidie Creek Gardens’ Fall Fun days before being added to the compost heap.
