EUGENE, Ore. — A Eugene man has a larger-than-life hobby: growing giant pumpkins. We visited Russ Pugh’s property to see just how heavy this year’s harvest turned out.
“You know, I’ve been doing this competitively for 25 years,” Pugh says, “and when, I think I was eight years old, I grew up in Kansas and I went to the Kansas State Fair and I saw what I thought was the world’s biggest pumpkin. Now looking back at it, it probably weighed maybe 300 pounds. But ever since then, I’ve wanted to grow a giant pumpkin.”
It’s safe to say that dream came true. Last year, Pugh’s pumpkin operation in Eugene produced the national pumpkin weigh-off winner.
Each year, Pugh spends about $10,000 on equipment and resources to grow his giant pumpkins, knowing not all of them will make it to the end.
Thankfully, one survived this year’s lot thanks to Pugh’s horticultural expertise and hard work. But for Pugh, the community he competes with means as much as the harvest itself.
“All of my friends are giant pumpkin growers. What a great community; because it just is kind of an all-consuming thing. And, you know, I spend anywhere from two to six or seven hours a day, really from like the first of March, you know, building out everything and getting everything ready to go up until March, you know, contest time.”
Pugh also belongs to the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, an organization that connects giant pumpkin growers. Beyond making friends, he said, one of the fun parts of the process is naming the pumpkins. This year’s theme was NBA players, and he dubbed his competition pumpkin Fat Luca in honor of Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Luca Doni.
This past weekend, Fat Luca made his debut at the Carpinito Brothers Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Kent, Washington. Fat Luca smashed the competition, tipping the scales at an astounding 2,307 pounds, a new record for Pugh.
Aside from bragging rights, Pugh returned home to Eugene with a $9,000 first-place prize.
Pugh said he now has weeks of work ahead, ripping out the vines and cleaning up for next year’s operation. He will probably plant his next pumpkins in early April, he said.
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