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Illinois

My name is Hippie, and I'm a 'virgin' here. Just logged on and registered. I'm promotions coordinator for the Galena, Illinois Farmer's Market, and we are planning to sponsor the Great Jo Daviess County Pumpkin Contest in 2003. The contest will be limited to pumpkins grown within the county. We plan to acquire seed in bulk and sell them to participants at twice the cost, with the excess money used for prizes. We'd like to stick with true pumpkins, and do not plan to go for the super monsters, just a couple hundred pounds or so would be fine, if true pumpkins grow that big. We might consider using squash, but would still prefer to keep the size under 500 pounds or so. This being our first year for a contest, we plan to take it slow and easy, but who knows what it will grow into. Perhaps in the future, we can go for the world record.
What I need now is a good source of standardized seed and plenty of advice and suggestions. I never realized that big pumpkin growers were such an active community. I look forward to hearing from people with more experience.
Hippie

1/12/2003 4:07:55 PM

Rush, NY

Since you want to keep the Weights under 500 pounds, I suggest you grow Burpee Prizewinners. With good care, they can reach 350 pounds and are a very pretty bright orange pumpkin. I grow them to sell and try to leave 3 or 4 per plant, and get some up to 250 pounds with no watering.
If you choose to go with the Burpee Prizewinners, you should provide the seed and not allow growers to use Atlantic Giant seed for your contest. You should be able to easily tell the difference between the 2 varieties.

Seeds are available from Burpee Seeds and I have seen them in other seed catalogs.

1/12/2003 5:13:52 PM

Montoursville, PA

Maybe consider a contest package which includes three seeds, an imformative sheet: "HOW TO GROW A BIG PUMPKIN", a referral to this pumpkin site and a declaration of fact:
.....This seed has all been purchased from the same professional seedsmen. The resulting pumpkins will be orange with easily identified traits. These seeds under proper growing techniques may produce a 200 pouond or larger pumpkin. "THE USE OF OR PRESENTATION OF ATLANTIC GIANT PUMPKINS WILL DISQUALLIFY A PUMPKIN IN THIS CONTEST".
....Contest for the heaviest grow in our county by a resident of this county. This could be a person or a family.
....Consider a prize for the uglyest one too.
....State that the package cost is designed to cover contest cost and at least a portion of the prize money.
....Don't get caught up in different classes of growers.
....kismif....Keep is simple, make it fun.

1/12/2003 6:10:34 PM

Indiana

I have seen a few AG's that could pass for a prizewinner to everyone but someone that has grown them for years.

Tom Beachy

1/12/2003 7:08:26 PM

Montoursville, PA

I thought of that Tom but the gentleman even with help would need to know rules are made to be streached. That is why I like the open class....man it's the orange and the heaviest. Even that seems to have some difficulties.

1/12/2003 7:24:53 PM

Rush, NY

docgipe, Please make it clear what you mean by "open class"?

1/13/2003 3:24:02 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

I think you missing the great fun...What can you sell a pack of seeds for? Even at double the price...and how many growers will you get from the county...Just have a registration and let them get their own seed! whatever it be. Make a sign up date/run like a fifty-fifty....patches would have to be registered in county. You'll never be able to verify if the pumpkin was grown in state let alone county...or if someone goes out and buys one of Lens pumpkin to win....Let em grow the big ones...the stories of the vine growth is enough, let alone if someone gets that 30 lbs a day going... Let em grow the AG's...
you'll get many more people next year! Good Luck Hippie!
Let Em Grow Em BIG! maxima is a maxima

1/13/2003 6:18:27 PM

Illinois

I think there is a great advantage to using the same strain of seed for our first contest. By producing packets with rules and growing info it makes it easy and convenient for beginners (myself included, even though I won't be competing) to participate. It creates a level playing field and allows us to compare our growing skills. I think docgipe captured the essence of what we're hoping to achieve. Keep it simple and make it fun. We're not trying for a world record, yet.
We plan to sell the packets for $3-$5 and only people who buy a packet will be able to compete in the contest. It might be possible to do 'spot checks' of the gardens to verify that they are indeed growing the pumpkins in the county, but this hardly seems necessary. Someone could always smuggle in an outside giant, I suppose, or use unapproved seed, but that does not seem likely. The total prizes will most likely be less than one hundred dollars, at the most, and it's hard to imagine someone committing fraud to win a local pumpkin growing contest.
Is this a problem at other contests?
If the first year contest is successful, we may open it up to all kinds of classes, but for now a simple friendly competition seems the best option.
I appreciate everyone's comments, and look forward to our first year of The Great Jo Daviess Pumpkin Growing Contest. Everyone I've talked to here thinks it's a great idea, and we hope to keep expanding it until it becomes a world class event.

1/14/2003 2:45:50 AM