From ’special seed’ to winning 984kg pumpkin
HALF MOON BAY (California):: “One special seed” and months of care by an Oregon commercial pilot produced a massive pumpkin that tipped the scales at a global weigh- in in Northern California, the fourth time his gargantuan plants were awarded top honours.
Steve Daletas of Pleasant Hill, Oregon, also credited lots of sunny days since he planted eight seeds on April 15 hoping to win the 45th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. His winner came in at 2,170 pounds (984kg).
“This all started with one special seed and a whole lot of work,” said Daletas, who raises giant pumpkins as a hobby. “We were really blessed it was sunny almost every day.”
It was the second-heaviest pumpkin ever weighed at the 40-year-old California event.
Daletas, 58, needed a backhoe to place his pumpkin on a pickup truck for the drive to California.
He said he strapped it down and drove “below the speed limit” for 12 hours to get to the contest.
The fourth-time pumpkin champ won US$15,190 (RM63,100), or US$7 (RM29) per pound, for the lumpy, orange pumpkin that will be showcased this weekend.
“Thousands of people will get pictures with it, which is really why we do this in the first place, to put smiles on people’s faces,” Daletas said.