He's the pumpkin king — again.
Gordon Tanner of Kaysville was crowned the grand champion pumpkin grower during a contest of giant pumpkins Saturday at Gardner Village. Weighing in at 932.5 pounds, Tanner's massive gourd not only took first place but set a new state record — besting the record his pumpkin set last year at 906 pounds.
Asked who were the runners-up this year, Tanner bashfully reveals "mine took second and third, too."
But he quickly points out the 737-pound squash that set a new record Saturday was not his. That award went to Brent Wolfley of Layton.
In all, 29 pumpkins and two squash were entered in the contest, weighing from 171 pounds to 932.5 pounds for Tanner's behemoth. A forklift was used to hoist the pumpkins and squash onto a large industrial scale.
"The only difference between a squash and a pumpkin is one is mostly green and one is orange," Tanner notes.
Tanner, who was awarded $400 and a ribbon for his first-place pumpkin, admits he was surprised it shattered last year's record. It turned out to be about 20 pounds heavier than he thought.
"The secret to growing a huge pumpkin," he says, "is good soil, good seed and some good luck."
Plus "manure, manure and more manure." Horse manure is what Tanner uses.
The contest drew hundreds of people to Gardner Village Saturday. Independent growers have been participating in the weigh-in since 1992 and this year organized as the Utah Giant Pumpkin Growers.
In previous years, the contest has been held at Thanksgiving Point and Wasatch Shadows Nursery.
"Everybody loves pumpkins, especially giant ones," Tanner says.
His pumpkins will be on display at J&L Garden Center until just before Halloween. For more information go to utahpumpkingrowers.com.