GOFFSTOWN – In the competitive world of pumpkin growing, 71-year-old Bill Rodonis, of Litchfield, knew for a fleeting moment what it felt like to be on top.

In 2007, Rodonis showed up to the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts toting a pumpkin so massive that it was – for about 20 minutes – the heaviest ever documented on the planet.

When they loaded it onto a scale, the pumpkin weighed 1,556 pounds. The record to beat was 1,502 pounds, and Rodonis knew he had grown a winner.

But after toiling in his pumpkin patch for five years, Rodonis saw his winning entry bumped into second place. A 1600-pounder from Rhode Island stole the title.

With bragging rights on the line, Rodonis said every grower of giant pumpkins hopes to grow the biggest gourd.

But for him, the annual ritual became more than a competition; it was also a chance to meet growers who became longtime friends.

“It was fun thing,” he said. “You met a lot of nice people, and that’s the best part. I still have those friends.”

This week, the Hillsborough County branch of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension will hold one of the region’s largest gatherings of giant pumpkin growers. The event will take place from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, at the Hillsborough County Complex, located at 329 Mast Road in Goffstown.

Members of the New Hampshire Giant Pumpkin Growers Association and UNH agriculture specialist George Hamilton will be on hand to offer tips about the challenges growers will face in the next year, whether it be from diseases, insects or mother nature.

Jessica Savage, Ph.D., a Harvard University researcher whose work has included studying giant pumpkins, is also scheduled to offer her thoughts on the life cycle of giant pumpkins.

Savage is expected to discuss how giant pumpkins grow and develop along with the difference between giant pumpkins and other plants in the cucurbit family.

Hamilton said anywhere from 20 to 50 growers usually attend the annual meeting on giant pumpkins. A majority are from Merrimack, Rockingham and Hillsborough counties, though people from as far away as Maine, Vermont and Connecticut have showed up in the past.

Topics have been far-ranging, from how to deal with weeds to selecting seeds that offer the best combination of traits.

“We’re looking more toward what are the growing conditions to … promote the best growing, or the fastest growing,” Hamilton said.

It wasn’t too long ago that pumpkin growers in New England had their sights set on the 1,500-pound mark. But with techniques to raise the pumpkins becoming more refined, and with gardeners producing strains of pumpkin seeds that turn out ever-larger pumpkins, records are being shattered each year.

Pumpkins weighing over 2,000 pounds have been recorded in competitions across the United States.

“The thinking is, ‘How are they getting larger now compared to 20 years ago?’” Hamilton said, “and due to the selection that we’re making, are we selecting pumpkins that have a larger cell division period than other ones, and that’s why we’re seeing larger ones?”

For many serious giant pumpkin growers in the state, the growing season is already well underway. The annual ritual often begins with germinating pumpkin seeds indoors and nurturing the seedlings until they develop their first sets of leaves.

The next challenge is deciding when to move the plants outdoors. Given the state’s relatively short growing season, pumpkin growers in New Hampshire are always on the hunt for more time in the soil.

One method is to move plants underneath a kind of miniature greenhouse when they’re planted. Hamilton said he knows of at least one giant pumpkin competitor who is using this method, and has already transplanted his seedlings outdoors.

Looking back on his years as a giant pumpkin grower, Rodonis believes the soil on his farm in Litchfield gave him an advantage. The land has been in use for decades.

Rodonis took up giant pumpkin growing the year he retired from farming. He said family members told him to find a hobby, and it was a good fit.

At the time, the practice was less well-known. Rodonis said some gardeners weren’t as forthcoming with their tricks, leaving him to experiment on his own.

“I didn’t know all the secrets and what-have-you, so I only grew a 317-pounder the first year,” he said.

Rodonis learned as much as he could online, and by the next year, he was able to grow a gourd that topped 1,000 pounds. His success continued, leading up to his noteworthy 1500-pounder in 2007. Rodonis hung up his gardening gear a few years later.

For beginners, Rodonis emphasized that giving pumpkins as much sunshine as possible is vital. They also need plenty of space to spread out, and temperatures hovering in the 80s.

“If it was 84 all season long, you could grow the biggest pumpkin, because they like the heat,” Rodonis said.

When it comes to plant food for giant pumpkins, every grower has a secret recipe. Rodonis said he developed his own blend of compost and nutrients over several years.

But above all, he said, seed selection is the crucial step.

“Your quality of seed is getting better and better every year,” he said.

For more information about the New Hampshire Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, visit its website at nhgpga.org.

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 594-6589 or jhaddadin@nashua
telegraph.com. Also, follow Haddadin on Twitter (@Telegraph_JimH).