State pumpkin record falls

PALMER — It was 10 years ago at the Alaska State Fair that Dale Marshall caught giant pumpkin fever.

On Tuesday, he set a new standard in Alaska pumpkin farming, hoisting a 1,469-pound monstrosity onto the scales at the Farming Exhibits and Milking Parlor at the Fairgrounds on Palmer, besting the old state record of 1,287 pounds set by J.D. Megchelsen in 2011, the man whose pumpkins first got Marshall into the game.

“I came here in 2006 and J.D.’s was 1,019, and I was like, ‘wow, that’s pretty cool,’” Marshall said.

Before the biggest of Marshall’s five gourds hit the scale, he guessed it would be around 1,370 pounds. He wasn’t surprised when moments later, the record had fallen.

“Not really, because of the genetics of this seed,” Marshall said. “The mother went 20 percent heavier and the father went 14 percent, so I was hoped to have it taped around 1370, so I was right in the ballpark where I thought we’d come out.”

Though the 1,469 pumpkin is a new state record, it’s not the heaviest Marshall has grown on his Anchorage property. His biggest, he said, was 1,723, but it was disqualified because of a hole in its bottom.

Just moving such a large organism from the farm down the highway to the fairgrounds can be hazardous.

“You can get splits; you can get all kinds of stuff all the way to the end of the contest,” Marshall said, adding that his winning pumpkin took five months — almost to the day — to grow.

“Of course you have to have the right seed, then you have to give it the right environment.”

Marshall isn’t done setting state records at the fair this week. Today, he’ll be competing in the long gourd competition, where he expects to break his own record.

He is also hoping to compete in the most coveted state fair agricultural competition, the Giant Cabbage Weigh-off at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

Finishing in second place was 9-year-old Palmer boy Thomas Whitmiri, who, like Marshall, got his initial inspiration from visiting the fair. That paid out a $500 prize to the $1,000 from Marshall, who entered five gourds but could only compete one.

He said seeing younger generations of giant pumpkin growers is encouraging.

“I love it; that’s what I want to see,” Marshall said. “That’s a $500 pumpkin over there that can easily be grown. I’d love to see 10 or 15 entrants.”

And while Palmer may be the giant cabbage capitol of the world, Marshall believes Anchorage heads can more than hold their own.

“We have less space in Anchorage, so there’s less growers, but climate-wise, we’re pretty competitive,” he said.