Man wins contest with 1,528-pound pumpkin

[October 14, 2008]  HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) -- Thad Starr's giant pumpkin really began putting on weight in August -- a lot of weight. The pumpkin gained about 30 pounds a day on its way to victory Monday at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off in Half Moon Bay. Starr's pumpkin finished at a record 1,528 pounds.

Starr won last year with a pumpkin that that was 4 pounds lighter and also set a record.

Starr, of Pleasant Hill, Ore., bought a trailer to transport the pumpkin. It has a circumference of 15 feet.

He says his secret to growing big pumpkins is good soil: "We really pamper them."

[Associated Press]

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