Barry Todd of Littleton didn’t have much hope for the vine that produced a 1,149 pound champion pumpkin in Longmont this weekend.
“This is the pumpkin that shouldn’t have happened,” he told a . “It was my last pumpkin plant put in the ground. It was a sad little plant.”
But the sad little plant’s progeny was declared the greatest pumpkin among 10 adult competitors at The ‘s annual Giant Pumpkin Contest on Saturday.
Todd told the Times-Call his pumpkin swelled to more than 1,200 pounds, adding 50 pounds a day at one point, but weather, a slow-growth period and a bout of put the pumpkin’s final weight at the 1,149-pound mark.
Todd owns the record at 1,308 pounds .
Runner-up was Joe Scherber of Wheat Ridge with an 1,109-pound pumpkin. Gary Shenfish of Littleton finished third with a 768-pound pumpkin.
Among 10 competitors in the children’s division, Longmont siblings Carter Navalur finished first with a 136-pound pumpkin, while his sister Eliza Navalur finished third with a 98-pound entry. Lucy Tatterson of Longmont came in second place with a 100-pounder.
