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Extreme sports meet 4H.

By Carl Malamud

At the Half Moon Bay Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off last year, Thad Starr took first place with his 1,524- pound Atlantic Giant pumpkin.

The 40-year-old Oregonian, who took home $9, 144 in prize money, had been growing giant pumpkins for just two years, proving that dedication, passion, and lots of chicken manure are more important than experience in the exciting hobby of competitive vegetable growing.

Would you like to grow a pumpkin to beat Starr next year? You’ll need some land, money, and serious dedication.

While pumpkins are the fruit of choice in many growing competitions, they’re not the only mutants on the planet. In England, growing giant marrows (zucchini) is a ruthlessly competitive sport, with specimens topping more than 100 pounds.

In the South Pacific islands and parts of West Africa, growing giant yams has a long tradition. In the United States, you’ll find 30-pound carrots in Alaska and 100-pound watermelons in Arkansas (Bill Clinton has been known to go on endlessly about his home state’s huge fruits).

People go to extreme lengths for extreme vegetables, but perhaps none are more extreme than the Chinese Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, which recently sent seeds of 2,020 plants up into space to expose them to low gravity and high radiation, which they claim changes the seeds’ genetic makeup.

These seeds are now showing up in Chinese markets, where sellers tell customers they’ll be able to grow peppers, tomatoes, and other plants 30% larger than normal.

Photograph by Sam Murphy

154 Make: Volume 13