Who can grow the biggest pumpkin in Colorado?
The competition was so intense this year that the state record ended up being broken four times. The ultimate winner emerged from Aurora Local 1290 Brad Bledsoe’s high tunnel greenhouse.
Its weight? 2,190 pounds!
“The success of this season has been exciting and surreal for my family,” Bledsoe said. “It is a lot of work to make sure that the pumpkins are getting enough water, fertilizer, and the roots get the attention they need. But it’s also a lot of fun to come home from my firefighting shift to see the progress they have made.”
It all started about three years ago when Bledsoe and his wife, Stacy, were trying to decide what to do with an unused area of their yard. They had grown pumpkins before but decided it might be fun to grow an extra-large pumpkin.
The first season brought a 195-pound pumpkin.
“I thought that was pretty big, so I decided to take it to a weigh-off competition,” he said. “But then my daughter asked, ‘Dad, why is yours the smallest one here?’ And that just ignited the competitor in me.”
I thought that was pretty big, so I decided to take it to a weigh-off competition. But then my daughter asked, ‘Dad, why is yours the smallest one here?’ And that just ignited the competitor in me.
Brad Bledsoe, Aurora Local 1290 member
Last fall, the Bledsoes moved so that they could have more land. It was the perfect place to build a high tunnel greenhouse where Brad could grow bigger and bigger pumpkins.
Pumpkin growers must be careful to maintain vines and roots, Bledsoe said. Each one can take up a lot of space, 900 square feet, in Bledsoe’s case. The pumpkin’s growth period lasts up to 90 days, and the bigger ones can grow up to 60 pounds a day.
Bledsoe’s first pumpkin of the season weighed 1,955 pounds, which beat the previous state record of 1,783 pounds. But Brad only held the title a week – until a fellow grower weighed in one at 1,976 pounds.
The Aurora fire fighter was not going to be beaten and took back the title with a 2,083 pumpkin. Then, Bledsoe topped himself with his third monster pumpkin of the season, weighing 2,190 pounds.
This year’s pumpkins will be harvested for seeds. The ones he doesn’t use will be offered to other growers. Once the seeds are out, the remains will be donated to Colorado State University for its bison herd.
No one knows exactly how big pumpkins can get, but the world record is currently held by Travis Gienger of Minnesota weighed in at 2,749 pounds.
Bledsoe said he doesn’t think that Colorado’s climate is conducive to growing one that big but hopes to get close in future growing seasons.
