As many would think, this summer may not have been the best for trying to grow anything. With the wicked fluctuations in weather….if we weren’t getting washed away, we were basking in above average heat waves. However, if you’re a pumpkin, a wet environment makes for the perfect growing conditions.
Langdon resident, Bev Lepka, got into the pumpkin growing world after a friendly competition kicked off between her and one of her neighbours. In 2013, Bev grew a pumpkin that weighed in at 172lbs with her neighbours pumpkin weighing in at a close 164lbs. In 2014, Bev grew a pumpkin that was 254.6lbs but her neighbour had a mishap while carrying his pumpkin out of the greenhouse and it smashed…. So with two wins under her belt, it was time to go bigger!
This year’s impressive vegetable started its journey in April 2015 in Bev’s spare room which she says makes for the perfect ‘starting off room’. It was on the vine for 76 days…and in those 76 days it grew to be 88 inches around and weighed in at 282.8 lbs! No typo… 282.8lbs!
All things pumpkin have been breaking records with Guinness World Records for years. So here is some fun pumpkin records:
• The largest pumpkin pie weighs 1,678 kg (3,699 lb)
• The longest line of carved pumpkins included 1,510 pumpkins
• The heaviest pumpkin weighs 1,054 kg (2,323 lb), was grown by Beni Meier (Switzerland)
• The fastest time to carve a pumpkin is 16.47 seconds achieved by Stephen Clarke (USA)
So, who knows, perhaps one day we’ll see Bev break that world record someday. For Bev though, as exciting as the competition part is (which as a side note, her neighbour did not grow a pumpkin this year), having youth in the community now showing an interest in gardening and specifically growing pumpkins, that is the exciting part for Bev.
Can’t wait to see next year’s!
