Geoff and the Giant Pumpkin

Will one of Geoff Peirce's giant pumpkins be a prize-winning entry?

Filed under: Vines, Vegetables

What Geoff Peirce has growing in his garden could only be described as mammoth--two pumpkins that each appear to weigh well over 1,000 pounds. Custom plastic tents protect them from late frosts. And to further insulate them from the chill, each pumpkin gets a few blankets.

One of these pumpkins will have a date with destiny--the giant pumpkin weigh-off at the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts. Pumpkins from all over New England will be competing for the grand prize of $3,500. The weigh-off is the next day and after five months of hard work, Peirce must choose between the sprawling orange pumpkin--and the great white (the color courtesy of genetic breeding).

New Boston, N.H. is a close community--population about 4,000. Not everybody in this town grows giant pumpkins, but they all support those who do. Folks here want to keep the title and bragging rights in New Hampshire.

The plan is to weigh each pumpkin and enter the heaviest. Between the two pumpkins, it looks like Peirce could have a winning entry.