From a seed the size of dime, Kerri van Kooten-Perras grew a monster pumpkin on a small patch at her Campbell River home.
The gargantuan gourde — a little misshapen and off-colour orange, but a doozer on the scale — weighed in at a whopping 1,152 pounds on Saturday. That’s roughly the weight of a full-grown grizzly bear and heavier than a grand piano.
It was enough to earn the Atlantic Giant pumpkin, dubbed Walter, the title of heaviest pumpkin in B.C. at the annual B.C. Giant Pumpkin Weighoff in Langley on Saturday.
It beat the next closest entry by 125 pounds, while the third-place finisher was 976 pounds. By comparison, the other 15 contenders were lightweights.
“After two years of an empty patch, I’m pretty happy with having something growing — introducing Walter,” said Kooten-Perras in a Facebook post.
“Thanks to everyone who had a hand in putting on the event. It was fantastic to meet other growers and see the enthusiasm for this crazy hobby.”
In 2017, another one of van Kooten-Perras’s Atlantic Giant pumpkins placed third in the province, weighing in at 1,074 pounds.
Giant Pumpkins B.C. said the Langley event at Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery is part of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the only world-recognized pumpkin weigh-off in Western Canada.
Other categories at this year’s competition included giant squash, long gourd and giant tomato.
On Monday, a new world record was set at the World Pumpkin Championships just outside San Francisco when Minnesota farmer Travis Geinger’s pumpkin weighed in at 2,749 pounds. He won the first prize of $30,000.
Dave Chan from Richmond finished fifth at the world championships with a 1,632-pound pumpkin.
As for Walter, van Kooten-Perras said he has now returned to the Island, and settled into his new home at Coastal Black’s Pumpkin Fest in Black Creek, north of Courtenay.
Coastal Black, an estate fruit winery and cidery at 2186 Endall Rd., is celebrating its 11th Annual Pumpkin Fest Fridays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Oct. 29.
Visitors can pick pumpkins in the field, wander corn mazes, visit a mini western town, take a ride on a wagon ride and say hello to the barnyard animals.
And don’t forget to pat big Walter for his gigantic win.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
