Half Moon Bay has a new champion — a 1,658-pound giant pumpkin grown by Don Young, a 45-year-old tree trimmer from Des Moines, Iowa.
Sixty-seven pounds short of the world record, Young’s mighty white pumpkin still blew away the Coastside competition and marked a new record for the annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off.
Flanked by a horde of reporters after his victory, Young was gracious but a little disappointed that his contender was short of claiming a world record. For him, it was a small step back. In 2007, he grew a heavier pumpkin weighing 1,662 pounds.
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“It’s still a monument,” Young said. “It’s a good victory, but we all want a little more. We’ll try harder, and I’ll be back next year.”
Young listed off a litany of meticulous measures he took to grow his champion, including organic soil, alternating water temperatures, misting the plant leaves and even fungi enhancements to the help the pumpkin roots absorb more nutrients.
The competition awards $6 for each pound of the winning pumpkin, meaning Young will take home a $9,948 grand prize. Second place went to Leonardo Urena of Napa with his 1,470-pound squash, followed by third-place winnder Ron Root of Citrus Heights whose pumpkin weighed 1,247 pounds.
Eda Muller also won an impressive local victory with her 1,200-pound squash — the only winning giant pumpkin that still had a deep orange color. Eda barely edged out her husband, John’s 1,187-pound entry in San Mateo County bracket of the competition.
“Me and John both were so excited to be in the top 10.” Eda said. “But this is his game, and I wanted him to win.”
Eric Carlson of Portolla Valley left a winner for having the most beautiful pumpkin in the competition, a dark-orange bean bag of a squash.
“It’s the prettiest pumpkin I’ve ever seen, but my wife is far more beautiful.” Carlson said with a fat grin.
“Smart guy,” chimed a bystander.
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