How do you grow a pumpkin the size of car? It's complicated

Ron Wallace grows pumpkins nearly the size of a Fiat.

From the pumpkin patch in his Rhode Island backyard, Wallace has become the rock star of giant pumpkin-growing. He was the first person in the world to break the 2,000-pound (907 kg) barrier in 2012, and he previously broke the world record in 2006.

Wallace, a country club manager, has spent 27 years at the hobby, swapping ideas with growers worldwide. A greenhouse grower in Switzerland holds the current world record or 1,054 kg, grown from a Wallace seed.

About 30,000 people grow giant fruits and vegetables competitively, and pumpkins are most popular, said Andy Wolf, president of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.

"All walks of life. Doctors, lawyers, farmers," Wallace said. "The bond is giant pumpkins."

It all starts with the seed. Top growers know their pumpkins' lineage back generations, and the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth keeps records.

Seeds from Wallace's 2,009-pound pumpkin have sold for more than $1,000 in a charity auction. Wallace has seen counterfeits sold on eBay. Still, many growers freely swap seeds with each other or lobby top growers to use a seed they think is promising.

The vines can grow 30 cm or more per day, and pumpkins can put on 20 kg per day, mostly from water. If conditions are right, growers might see a string of huge pumpkins. When there's a drought, as in California, don't expect a bumper crop.

Standing in Wallace's fields, a person feels smaller. Around the edges where he grows flowers and vegetables, his sunflowers have reached 6 meters. A tomato plant produced a 2.2 kg tomato. Wallace has spent more than two decades researching soil science and experimenting. This year, he launched a product based on his growing program to help deliver water and nutrients.

Wallace, who's single, works up to 40 hours a week on his hobby, checking for mice and disease and burying vines, and keeping pumpkins covered in sheets to protect the skin.

Most growers end up spending hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. If they're lucky, they can sell what they grow for a holiday display for $1 a pound, maybe more for a state record, but they say they rarely make money or break even.

One place these pumpkins won't end up: pumpkin pie. They're too big to be tasty.

(China Daily 10/24/2015 page10)