Nick Kennedy poses with his giant pumpkin, named Pohaku, which broke the California state record at the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival this year. Photo by Tamara Warta

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Pumpkin patches are synonymous with the month of October, but for one in particular this year, the goal was a bit larger than jack-o-lanterns and corn mazes. Nick Kennedy set out this year to grow the largest pumpkin and successfully broke the California state record at the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival.

Why not stay local? Prior to the competition, Kennedy said, “People ask why we don’t just do Bishop’s. We took a 2000 lb pumpkin [to Bishop’s] and got 2nd place, but we are not doing it for the money. We want to compete at the highest level and Half Moon Bay is essentially that.”

Kennedy’s pumpkin, in partnership with his friend and co-grower Ron Root, was estimated to be 2,380 lbs and 240 inches around. The official total was 2.497, broke the California state record, and came in 2nd place as the best pumpkin all around.

So how exactly does one set out to break the state record and come in second place in the nation? For Kennedy and Root, it starts with a 70 x 70 square foot plot situated in the center of the long closed-down Citrus Heights patch, The Pumpkin Farm.

Kennedy and Root met last year and they worked together to develop the patch this year.  

“He’s got a lot of knowledge,” said Kennedy. “We are the old school paired with the new school.”

While it’s true that Root has years more knowledge than Kennedy, Kennedy himself is bursting with excitement when talking about pumpkin life. All of their pumpkins are Atlantic giants, which are grown from seeds from US world record holder Travis Gienger.

“We’re sort of playing mad scientist and God over here for a second because we control all the pollination,” said Kennedy.

The record-breaking pumpkin, named Pohaku – which is Hawaiian for rock or boulder – was one of four that the duo grew this year. The others did not make it as successfully to the end.

The most important thing when growing giant pumpkins is the seeds and genetic potential.

“If you were to buy a store bought seed it will only have the potential to grow to the size of the year before,” said Kennedy. Which explains why, thankfully, we don’t all have giant pumpkins growing in our yard.

Kennedy is not a full-time pumpkin grower – he is a tech worker that resides in Fair Oaks. But at this point of the season, he is spending 3-4 hours each day burying vines and reaping the rewards of spending months training the roots to grow into a certain pattern designed to support the giant pumpkin’s nutrition and growth.

“The more root growth you have, the more energy it will have to grow,” said Kennedy.  “More roots, bigger fruits. It’s a fine balance of providing enough nutrients for it to grow fast and steady, but don’t over do it because you can blow your pumpkin up in theory.”

Kennedy had two personal goals heading into the Half Moon Bay Competition. First, to grow a pumpkin over 2,000 pounds. Second, to nab a famous growers’ jacket that is obtained only by growing a single pumpkin over 2200 pounds or three with the combined weight of 4300 pounds.

With those two accomplishments now under his belt, he can reflect upon the season – which began with planting end of April, and look towards the work ahead as the pumpkin patch is completely uprooted, cleared out, and prepared for next season.

Moving the pumpkin to the competition in Half Moon Bay was no easy feat either. Local company River City Rentals donated an off-road forklift and used an extra large harness to work as a giant sling. The pumpkin was then placed on pallets on top of a truck bed, elevating it approximately 6 feet in the air.

“It’s definitely stressful but I’ve gotten to the point where I know that the operators know what they’re doing. I’ve done it a couple times, Ron’s done it 20 plus times.”

Kennedy is clearly laid back about pumpkin life and looks forward to the years ahead.  His son also got into the game this year, growing a Halloween orange pumpkin that weighed in at over 700 pounds.

“It’s definitely a family sport,” explained Kennedy. “The people that do this are just the best people I’ve ever met in the world. Everyone is so nice and generous. It’s such a labor of love, Even if there were no money involved it would do it until the day I die. It’s just so much fun.”