Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

A ton of giant pumpkin takes home prize

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 7, 2020

Madison Thomson of Newcastle shows off his 2020 champion -- weighing in at 2,089 pounds -- at the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival. (Photo courtesy
Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival)

First-time entrant wins Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival weigh-off

Will 2020 be a big year for pumpkins? Judging by the results of the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival, it could be.

Held Saturday without public attendance, the pumpkin weigh-off was one of the few parts of the popular festival offered this year; the pumpkin boat races, pie eating contest and other festivities were all canceled due to COVID-19 health guidelines. More than 70,000 patrons packed the 2019 pumpkin fest.

But the pandemic didn’t stop pumpkins from growing. The 2020 winner: 2,089 pounds. That’s 151 pounds more than the 2019 champion pumpkin.

The new king of Sacramento-area pumpkin growers was a first-time entrant. Madison Thomson of Newcastle took home the $2,000 first prize. Thomson told The Sacramento Bee that he had been growing giants for 15 years, but this was his first time to enter Elk Grove’s contest.

“I was not expecting to win at all,” he said. “I was not expecting it to get as heavy as it did. This pumpkin is over double the size of my next largest pumpkin that I’ve ever grown.”

The victory also was Thomson’s first in a weigh-off sanctioned for official records.

“Madison began growing giant pumpkins in high school and has been growing them on and off ever since,” the festival posted on Facebook. “(Saturday) was his first visit to the Elk Grove Weigh-Off and his first-ever win at a Great Pumpkin Commonwealth sanctioned contest.”

Thomson’s pumpkin won by a whole lot of gourd. The runner-up weighed “only” 1,731.5 pounds. About 30 contestants competed in the “heftiest” category.

Known for its over-sized pumpkins, the festival shared the weigh-off and awards via a broadcast on Facebook Live. The 2018 winner, grown in Napa, set a California record at 2,138 pounds.

Started in 1994, the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival also held virtual contests with online voting for prettiest giant pumpkin and “Hometown Scarecrow.”

Next up for pumpkin fans is the granddaddy of gourd weigh-offs, the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Art Festival. Like Elk Grove, the festival itself was canceled. But not to be denied, the pumpkins will roll into the spotlight.

From 7 to 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 12, pumpkin fans around the globe can watch that festival’s weigh-off via Facebook, which will include coverage via drone.

“Our camera crews will be going back and forth from the ground to the sky to bring you this year’s Weigh-Off Livestream on Facebook,” the organizers posted on Facebook. “The rockstars at HMB Media and Mallermedia blend the engineering geek technical expertise with the ability to tell a story through visuals like no one else. Livestream the action on our weigh-off Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/halfmoonbaypumpkinweighoff/

and catch Half Moon Bay’s 47th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, October 12, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Long Branch Farms! Godzilla gourds abound, sadly no spectators this year.”

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

fall vegetables pumpkin contest gardening pumpkins Elk Grove fall events gourds squash Sacramento County Half Moon Bay fall festival

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!