Get pumped for pumpkins
Vesey’s Seeds hosts 25th annual Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh Off
These pumpkins definitely won’t fit in your latte, but if you want to spice up your opinions on giant gourds head out to York for one of the Island’s biggest Thanksgiving traditions.
Vesey’s Seeds will be hosting the 25th annual Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh Off on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Glenn Holmes, bulb manager for Vesey’s and master of ceremonies for the event, said there are also categories for field pumpkins and squash as well the large pumpkins.
“We also give prizes for firsttime grower and best-looking pumpkin and so on. I believe because it is the 25th anniversary they are waving the entry fee (for the contest).”
The Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh Off usually has a great turn-out Holmes said. “The weather has always been very fortunate, and it looks like sun is in the forecast again. It’s a great family fun day. There is a lot of events here for young school age children.”
There are games to enjoy, and kids can decorate their own pumpkin and take it home. In addition, there are wagon rides and a pudding eating contest for a small group of kids.
The actual pumpkin weigh-off begins at noon when the gigantic gourds are strapped into a harness and lifted to check their weight.
The same man has won the contest the last three years. Charlottetown resident Eddy Shaw won the top prize at the Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh Off for the third year in a row with las year’s winning pumpkin weighing in at 1,594.5 pounds. Even though Shaw’s 2017 winner was the biggest gourd entered in a weighing contest, it wasn’t even the biggest one he grew last year. Shaw entered a contest in Nova Scotia with a pumpkin weighing 1,624 pounds. It takes a lot of work to grow pumpkins, and Holmes thinks Shaw has some hidden tricks up his sleeve.
“It is a magical amount of the heat, which we’ve had lots of, but because they grow so quickly they need to have lots of moisture.
“So, that becomes a challenge for a summer like this.” Pumpkins can put on 30 to 40 pounds a day while they grow, sometimes they get so large they burst from their shell Holmes said.
“There are guys that really know their stuff. They can measure the girth with a measuring tape and based on a few calculations in their head and a few measurements they can pretty accurately guess within about 50 pounds of what it weighs.”
The event has no cost, so families can enjoy a day of fun for free Holmes said.
“It’s a really nice Thanksgiving thing to do. I’ve been doing it since 2012 (and) I am always so impressed with what a great fun activity it is.”