The fields of Sunnyfields Farm were shades of orange and CANNA green as the sun rose on the Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off in Southampton this October. Growers of the UK rolled in to the farm from early hours to load in and weigh their pumpkins, squashes & gourds in hopes of taking home the grand prize. These giants to be reckoned with are pollinated in mid-June and it takes around 110 days for the pumpkins to reach their maximum size.
The winning pumpkin weighing in at 1490.5lbs from Curtis Leach, based in Wargrave, was also a new UK record! This beauty was pollinated on the 6th June and saw 123 days on the vine, with grower advising new growers that with giant pumpkins it is a marathon, not a sprint!
Taking 2nd place with a 1351.9lb entry was Watlington based Gerald Short using, not only a grower who excels at growing giant vegetables, but also the head of a family legacy with 13 year old son Oliver following in his footsteps. Both Gerald & Oliver brought their efforts to Sunnyfields,
Oliver started his pumpkin in April and he took it off the vine the day before the event! BIOCANNA grower Gerald even came with a film crew in tow, a team from Channel 5 documenting his progress so keep an eye out on the TV schedule for this.
Ian & Stuart Paton from Lymington have long been known for their incredible growing efforts and in 2020 they were just shy of beating the World Record for heaviest pumpkin by 31lbs, however taking the UK record.
The brothers were aiming to beat this again and even take the World Record but with the weather and mother nature this was not to be, with the pair losing pumpkins to disease even though this season had started out better.
They did weigh in the best they had which came to 1325.8lbs, still a sterling effort and taking 3rd place. Ian & Stuart are set on making 2022 their year so they are a combination to watch for the following year!
This pumpkin event however has a slight difference, it isn't just about the biggest and heaviest, it is also about the most beautiful. The Howard Dill award is one of the most prestigious in the world of all that is orange and pumpkin. This is a Great Pumpkin Commonwealth award named after the father of giant pumpkin growing himself – Howard Dill. This goes to the most pumpkin looking pumpkin of the bunch, from the shape and the size to the texture and colour.
Holding this title for 2021 is Carl Lambourne, a grower with experience and awards previously and took this win for the very first time! Carl left his winner out in all weathers, not covered over unless it got a bit chilly and he did blanket it for some love and it did pay off.
CANNA is set to return to the Sunnyfields Farm with more pumpkins in tow come October 2022 with more UK records to be broken and hopefully even a World Record holder.
