Giant pumpkin project update: Audrey goes to the Fair!
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu
Wednesday, Aug. 24, was a big day for our horticulture team involved in the giant pumpkin project. By 4 p.m., Audrey was at the Fair and weighed in at 591.5 pounds. She placed fifth in the Fair’s Giant Pumpkin Adult Division. Not bad for some first-time growers!
We started the day removing Audrey’s vine and cutting her loose. She was covered with a soft rug and styrofoam and strapped onto her pallet to prevent any rolling.
Volunteers removed a part of the fence and Arb ground crew members navigated the pallet with a forklift and placed her, pallet and all, onto the bed of volunteer Steve Eckman’s pickup truck.
The trip to the fairgrounds was uneventful (whew!) and Star Tribune photographer, Alex Kormann, recorded the entire day.
Team member and fruit educator, Annie Klodd removed Audrey’s vine and cut her loose.
Audrey is the white pumpkin front and center.
How giant pumpkins are weighed
Seymour continues to be cared for and grows larger every day in the pumpkin patch. He is destined for the Stillwater Harvest Festival, which includes one of the country’s premier giant pumpkin weigh-offs. At last measure, he weighed about 500 pounds. As our teammate, Noah Burley said in a text, "He’s probably happy not to share the water!"
Seymour will continue growing through early October when he will be entered in the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
