In his fourth year of giant pumpkin growing, Tim Harris is confident he could break the New Zealand record for the heaviest pumpkin. Weighing in at 700kgs, the aim is to surpass the record of 721 and with 16 days left to go to the Great Pumpkin Carnival, Mr Harris is looking positive. Currently the pumpkin is growing around 5 kgs per day, and is 70 days old. Mr Harris said he "caught the bug" of pumpkin growing after planting his first seed four years ago.
The first pumpkin grew to over 200kgs with him doing very little to assist it. He decided to do more research and see what he could achieve. Last year, Mr Harris' pumpkin reached 690 kgs, but with a rough growing season he lost five of the six pumpkins he hoped to enter. This year, the weather has been favourable but November and December were concerning with high winds and a cooler start to the summer.
Higher temperatures and high rain fall can cause pumpkins to split, as can sunlight.
Mr Harris said he spends an hour and a half with the pumpkins each day during their peak growing between 20-50 days of age, where the pumpkin is putting on around 20 kgs each day. "The kids love to come down and see it a different size each day." When the pumpkin reaches the festival a hiab will lift it on to cattle scales.
This breed is an Atlantic Giant and this particular pumpkin comes from a 1623 Wallace seed, meaning the parent weighed 1623 pounds owned by grower Ron Wallace. Mr Harris said this year's pumpkin is "a bit ugly" but should darken in colour toward the end of its growth.