Pumpkin contest plants the seed

They weren't the biggest pumpkins in the country, but the Whangarei entries in the Mitre 10 Easy As Kids Big Pumpkin Contest, above, still making an impressive sight, with overall local winner Jeremy Mortimore, on the left, with his 59kg whopper.

When it comes to growing pumpkins, Whangarei kids know how to make a huge impression.

Jeremy Mortimore came first in the Whangarei heat of the Mitre 10 Easy As Kids Big Pumpkin Contest with his 59kg whopper an impressive sight at the weigh in at Mitre 10 Mega in the city.

Kyle Patterson with his best dressed pumpkin.

But while Jeremy's orange marvel was enough to win the local event, it wasn't a patch on the national winner of the competition, - a 161.4kg monster grown by New Plymouth's Spotswood Primary School.

The enormous plant edged out a large number of other impressive pumpkins and was deemed the winner after results were compared following weigh-ins at Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 Mega stores across the country.

In a close second this year was Gabriella Hall of Napier with a 152kg pumpkin, followed in third by Eric Ebelthite of Pukekohe with a 132kg plant.

Mitre 10's General Manager Marketing Dave Elliott was delighted to see so many kids across the country get involved.

"Yet again, we're blown away by what our entrants have been able to produce," Mr Elliott said. "It's great to see so many youngsters get stuck in and test the limits of their gardening skills."

Also in the Whangarei event, the best dressed pumpkin went to Kyle Patterson while the ugliest belonged to Imogen Schuler-Smith.