Local ‘Pumpkin Man’ Grows a 660-Pounder in Backyard

Pumpkin carving is a large but thrilling task for the Johnson family, whose giant homegrown pumpkin this year weighs 660 pounds. Their El Medio bluffs neighbors will finally be able to put a face to the enormous squash come Halloween, when it will be on display in the Johnsons’ front yard. Craig Johnson became interested in growing monster pumpkins more than 10 years ago and challenged himself to grow bigger ones each year. This year’s king of the patch is “tied with last year’s,” Johnson told the Palisadian-Post yesterday. “It was a great seed, a very strong pumpkin, but it slowed down a bit early.” At its peak, the pumpkin was gaining about 20 to 25 pounds a day, until its growth rate slowed down around the first week of September. “We were on vacation,” said Johnson, who suggested that lack of fertilizer during that time might be one reason why the pumpkin failed to reach its full potential, which he said could have been about 700 pounds. Johnson purchases his seeds on an Internet site for Howard Dill Enterprises in Canada, and uses only organic fertilizer. “This year, I was more aggressive,” he said. “I increased the amount [of fertilizer] and the frequency of application. I didn’t put as much fertilizer on the leaves, so I didn’t have any leaf stress this year.” Leaf stress, Johnson explains, occurs when growers spray the leaves generously with fertilizer, which causes them to become brittle. Johnson weighs his pumpkin using what’s called the “over the top” method, which he explains as “three measurements that put you within a couple pounds [of the pumpkin’s actual weight].” He measures the pumpkin from side to side and front to back, as well as the circumference; the total number of inches is then applied to a chart that translates to pounds. On either Saturday or Sunday, Johnson will move his pumpkin into the front yard, using a pumpkin-lifting tarp made by the Amish. Moving the pumpkin requires the help of five or six guys. “I’m a pumpkin artist,” said Johnson, who will begin sculpting his creation on Sunday, using tools purchased at a modeling store that sells art equipment. “I really don’t start focusing on [the design] until a day or two before.” The carving and sculpting process takes about a day. A trick to preserving the pumpkin for three or four days, Johnson says, is spraying cheap hairspray over the surface of the carved pumpkin. “It’s fun for the neighborhood, mostly the younger kids,” said Johnson, whose children, Beck, Teal and Tait, are ages 18, 16 and 13. The three of them will have their own 100- to 200-pound pumpkins to carve. Craig and his wife, Kelly, also donated a 400-pound pumpkin to be auctioned off at Calvary Christian School, and they delivered the pumpkin to the Yeh family in the Marquez area about a week ago.