As his giant pumpkin was hoisted a few feet off the ground, David Chan could see the last seven months of his life flash before his eyes.
One tiny slip and his pride and joy, which he grew in his kitchen from a seed in April, could crack and split, rendering it completely useless for any competition.
Chan then watched intensely as his 1,500-plus pound gourd was delicately transported by a tractor’s forklift about 40 feet from his giant pumpkin patch, in his rural, east Richmond backyard, to the back of his pick-up truck.
Moments earlier, the pumpkin-growing enthusiast had “cut the cord” on the giant vegetable, which has been growing in a very special, 2,000 square foot patch since April.
As the pumpkin – potentially the biggest in B.C. this season – was lowered the last few inches onto the truck, a very relieved smile grew on Chan’s face.
“It’s Miller time!” shouted Chan, referring to the annual tradition of cracking open a pack of Miller beer with tractor driver John after another successful giant pumpkin harvest.
Asked what he was thinking about those last few seconds, Chan added, “If it did slip, it would be about $5,000 damage to my truck. But you saw how carefully John drove the tractor, he knows what he’s doing.”
The giant pumpkin was on its way to a competition called “The Terminator” in Portland on Friday, along with retired Chan, his wife, Janet, and their two grandchildren.
“Saturday morning is the weigh-off and a number of the pumpkins will be hollowed out and paddled on a lake for races,” said Chan, who’s been growing the giant pumpkins for 10 years, seven in his current backyard.
“I don’t know the prize, I don’t care, it’s about pride.”
To break the record, it would have to be 1,544 pounds.
“There is a chance, because these grow either heavy or light, depending on the thickness,” explained Chan.
“This is the biggest I’ve ever grown. I’ve got another that was weighed at Krause Berry Farm competition in Langley last week and it was 1,379 pounds; that was bigger than my best before that, 1,339 pounds.”
Chan put this year’s giant being so big down to a good summer, along with a bit more time and money spent on it.
“I spent a bit of money doing soil tests and tissue tests on the leaves, so I can tell what kind of nutrients the plant is getting,” he added.
“I have automatic timers on my drip watering system and we can leave for a weekend, but we can’t be away for more than three or four days at a time. So that means no vacations.
“It’s a little bit of an obsession. When we bought this place seven years ago, my wife said I could only grow pumpkins every second year, so I guess I’ve kind of broken that. Next year I’ll take some time off to go on holiday.”
However, Janet may have something to say about that, not that she’s winning her own prizes with her first ever home-grown giant pumpkin.
“I grew mine on another patch close by. It was 829 pounds. It won prettiest pumpkin at Krause,” she said.
“I don’t have the patience or the obsessive nature for this that David does, though. I did a couple of things to it and David nagged me to do some more.
“I fed it some everyday garden fertilizer 20/20/20, but I started with a good seed, so that helps.”
Janet’s got unloaded Thursday onto the couple’s driveway on Fedoruk Road, off Westminster Highway, where it will eventually be carved by her grandchildren for Halloween.
