Larry Thompson grew the largest pumpkin recorded in Utah history on his very first try.
Thompson's pumpkin weighed in at 452 pounds at a contest earlier this month at Wasatch Shadows Nursery, 9295 S. 255 West. The former state record is 316 pounds.Though he set out to grow a big pumpkin, he didn't expect to win. The effort started when he and some friends got together and decided to see who could grow the bigger vegetable.
"I just fertilized it, watered it and kind of looked after it to make sure the vines didn't split," he said. The Rose Park plumber for Kennecott Corp. says gardening is just a hobby.
When he heard about Wasatch Shadows' contest, he decided to pit his pumpkin against not only his friends but anybody else who showed up. He only grew one pumpkin and it just happened to be the biggest ever recorded in the state.
His friend Ray Tolman took second and also squashed the state's former heavyweight title. His pumpkin weighed 427 pounds. Both men used a special tarp they made to transport their monstrous pumpkins to the contest.
What does Thompson plan to do with his Halloween harvest? "I'm not going to make anything out of it right now," he said. "It's sitting in my back yard on the patio."
Thompson was surprised at the fruitfulness of his efforts and said he plans to try again next year. Third place in the giant pumpkin contest went to 7-year-old Melissa Foutz, whose entry weighed 271 pounds.