The great pumpkin comes to Gail’s Pumpkin Patch

 

[October 13, 2020] 

The enjoyment of spending a day at Gail’s Pumpkin Patch was enhanced this past weekend by a special visitor with a special display. Henry Bartimus Baitman of Clinton was on hand with his prize winning giant pumpkin. The pumpkin is this year’s winner of the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association biggest pumpkin contest.

Baitman had his 1,673 lb. pumpkin parked under a shade tree at the front of the property at Gail’s. He offered several displays to explain how he had grown the great pumpkin and answered questions from visitors.

On the back side of the pumpkin, a square was cut out so that people could see the thickness of the pumpkin wall and what the inside looked like.

Baitman said he wasn’t sure how long the pumpkin would last, but he is doing what he can to preserve it as long as possible. He noted that he sprays powdered sulfur on the inside of the pumpkin to help slow down the decaying process and had a sign posted on the pumpkin advising guests not to touch the pumpkin.

Asked if he worries about the pumpkin collapsing when transported, he said that he really doesn’t worry about it too much. He talked about the thickness of the meat wall and said that the pumpkin could easily withstand a 200 pound man standing on it.

This is Baitman’s first win though he has been growing the giant pumpkins since 2016. He also noted that when he took his pumpkin to the competition, there was one there that was larger in overall size, but Baitman’s pumpkin, though physically smaller, outweighed the other one by 14 pounds.

Baitman shared some interesting facts about growing the pumpkin, such as it can gain more than 2 pounds per hour or 50 pounds per day during its peak growing period. It takes 80 to 100 gallons of water per day to make the pumpkin grow.

While the pumpkin looked pretty darn big, the fact is, it is several hundred pounds short of the Illinois and World records. The world record largest pumpkin grown weighed in at 2,640.6 pounds and was grown from an Illinois seed. The state record pumpkin weighed 2,145.5 pounds.

[Nila Smith]