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The 27th Annual Allardt Pumpkin Festival produced two record weigh-ins for bushel gourd and green squash Saturday.
Jeremy Terry of Helenwood set the world record for the largest bushel gourd, weighing in at just over 384 lbs.
“It’s pretty neat, I can hardly describe what I’m feeling right now but it’s really, really cool,” Terry said. “If I knew how I grew it, I’d do it again next year. They’re a lot of work… every day you have to work out there in the patch, taking care of the plants, watering and feeding them and this and that. It’s a job.”
Jason Terry, of Oneida, set the Tennessee State Record for the largest green squash at 1,089 lbs (Photo: Logan Weaver)
Meanwhile, former pumpkin contest winner Jason Terry took home the Tennessee state record for the largest green squash, weighing in at over 1,089 lbs.
“It’s exciting. It’s something that I’ve never grown before and I wanted to try this year,” he said. “To be able to break [the record] the first year trying was a good accomplishment so I’m tickled… It’s a lot like the pumpkins, it’s a lot of hard work. It’s a lot of effort and time. You’ve just got to be willing to put in the time to get it this big.”
John Van Hook took home the title of the largest pumpkin at the festival. His entry weighed in at 1,293 lbs.
“We always come to the festival to weigh these giant pumpkins,” Van Hook said. “We try to grow the biggest one we possibly can. Last year we had one that was 1,594 (lbs.). With all the rain and stuff, you never know what these pumpkins are going to do as far as how much they measure and how much they weigh.”
Van Hook said the key to growing a giant pumpkin involves selecting the right seeds and good genetics.
“We start these in May, and we select the best genetics that we possibly can,” Van Hook said. “We hand pollinate these to where the genetics get better and better, so a bee never gets to touch these. When it’s not raining, probably 50 gallons a day goes into these pumpkins.”
Volunteers help load John Van Hook’s winning pumpkin onto the scale for weighing Saturday during the 27th Allardt Pumpkin Festival (Photo: Logan Weaver)
Van Hook said monitoring the pumpkins during their peak growth stage is crucial to making sure they stay intact.
“Most of the time, during the rapid growth phase, usually for about 30 days, they start ramping up to somewhere between 29 to 50 lbs. every 24 hours,” Van Hook said. “We watch really close as to how this pumpkin’s growing and what you’re going to need to do for it. It’s kind of like a plan every day. Growing these giant pumpkins is just about a full-time job.”
This is the fourth time Van Hook and his family took home the title of the largest pumpkin at the festival. Van Hook previously won in 2009, 2010, and 2017, making this the second time he’s won in consecutive years. His largest pumpkin in those attempts came last year when he set the Allardt Pumpkin Festival and Kentucky state records at 1,594 lbs.
