The Liggetts’ first pumpkin turned out to be 188 pounds, and that was enough to start an optometrist’s interest in farming.

The Liggett's won the 2008 Circleville Pumpkin Show Weigh-in. Their pumpkin, Megan, tipped the scales at 1375.5. Congratulations, Liggetts!

Want to try to grow big pumpkins? Visit bigpumpkins.com

This year’s show
The Circleville Pumpkin Show is always held the third Wednesday through Saturday of October, making this year’s show dates Oct. 15 through Oct. 18. As one can imagine, the show celebrates all things pumpkin — from the expected, such as pumpkin pies and donuts, to the unexpected such as pumpkin burgers, pumpkin soup and pumpkin waffles.

When you visit the Pumpkin Show, stop by the Pickaway County Visitors Pavilion presented by the Pickaway County Farm Bureau for daily entertainment and cooking demonstrations. Ohio Farm Bureau members who come to the pavilion to renew their membership for next year will receive a free gift. On display will also be the "Tip of the Hat to Ohio Agriculture" exhibit of 88 uniquely designed cowboy hats presented by Our Ohio. For more information on the Circleville Pumpkin Show visit pumpkinshow.com

a giant mission

Story by Lynn Snyder
Photos by Megan Nadolski

Bob Liggett was raised along the Ohio River in the Brown County town of Ripley. His father and grandfather managed the Ripley Hardware Co. for more than 60 years and Liggett grew up to be an optometrist. Nowhere along the way was farming a part of his life until he and his wife Jo moved to their current property outside Circleville 15 years ago and met a local farmer, Brent Rhoads.

Rhoads was working soil on his property that backs to the Liggetts’. Liggett admited his nosiness was what prompted him to talk to Rhoads to find out what he was up to.

“By the way, I’m planting a plant that grows giant pumpkins,” Rhoads told him. “But I don’t have the time to care for them, would you?”

That first pumpkin turned out to be 188 pounds, and that was enough to start an optometrist’s interest in farming. Liggett decided if he couldn’t double the weight the following year, he wouldn’t grow pumpkins anymore. He obtained seeds from Jerry Rose, of Rose’s seeds in northern Ohio, and won the Pumpkin Show the next year. “Back then it was just for fun, to see what we could get,” he said. Now he’s on a mission.

“You see, we’ve come to the thinking that after I won the third time, it wasn’t right that one person wins all the time, so another local grower, Nancy Martin, and I set up a group to share ideas and get bigger pumpkins. Other places’ pumpkins are bigger (than Circleville pumpkins),” he said. His mission in life is to change that. “We have the biggest show; I want the biggest pumpkin here. That’s why we have the group. We all have the potential to do it.”

Liggett believes the key is in the seeds; his careful tracking of pumpkin family trees has enabled him to continue to grow larger and larger pumpkins. Four years ago Bob and Jo set the Circleville Pumpkin Show record, and they set a new record at last year’s show with their winning pumpkin, Creampuff, which weighed in at 1,524.5 pounds. Editor's Note: The Liggetts won the 2008 Circleville Pumpkin Show Weigh in; their pumpkin, Megan, tipped the scales at 1375.5.

Liggett said the competition among growers is friendly and he is very open to sharing his seeds and growing techniques with others. He is the editor of a newsletter with 55 subscribers, hosts many curious visitors and other growers to his patch and allowed Our Ohio to follow the progress of his giant pumpkin, Creampuff, last year.

In the beginning
1. In 2007, the Liggetts started the pumpkin seeds April 20. “We start earlier than other growers. There are lots of insects around so we need (our pumpkins) on the vine before the aphids come from the surrounding farm,” he said. The numbers on the seeds detail the seed genetics. They each have a family tree, and he saves seeds from his more desirable pumpkins to plant in future years. “My goal is to make better seed to make better pumpkins, not just to grow big pumpkins,” he said. The seeds from Creampuff are being used to grow this year’s Liggett pumpkin.
2. The pumpkins are ready to plant 10 days after the seeds are started in simple cottage cheese containers. The Liggetts’ homemade incubator and grow light give them a good start. They plant multiple plants, even though they know the genetics, because they just don’t know which one will end up being the best.
3. The way the leaves point determine how Liggett puts the plant in the ground so he can control the direction the plant grows. The gloves he is wearing are simply to keep his hands and fingernails clean for his patients; Liggett said he doesn’t consider himself a farmer. The plants are hand watered for about a week, then with a hose and wand until the plant is about 4 or 5 feet long and then through a metered irrigation system using hard water from their old well, the Liggetts said. Styrofoam is placed under the leaves to keep them from touching the ground.

Fruit of the vine
4. Liggett trims off the tendril before the vines are buried. Without those tendrils, the vine is more narrow and easier to bury. “If we did not bury the vines, the tendril would give support to the vine. By burying the vines, more roots can engage the soil,” he said.
5. Pollination. Liggett said choosing the male pollen, is similar to genetically making a better race horse. “We usually plant the seeds from a pumpkin whose characteristics we would like to introduce into our existing gene pool. We use its pollen and hope the seeds produced will make a better pumpkin the following year. Some of the obvious characteristics are color, shape, smooth or rough skin and size. Another might be disease resistance,” he said.
6. After the blossom is pollinated, it is tied shut to keep the bees out. Each seed is pollinated by a single grain of pollen. Hand pollination keeps the same "father" for all the developing seeds. The Liggetts spend two to three hours a night in the patch, from after dinner until dark. “Our social life is limited in the summer,” Jo said. They do get a lot of visitors, often as many as 25 on a Sunday afternoon. Their son, Dave, “babysits” so they can get away.

The first look at Creampuff
7. The pumpkins get their names when they reach the 300- to 400-pound mark. “That way the grandkids know which one we’re talking about,” Jo said. The Liggetts add stakes to the ground to guide the plants’ growth. The Liggetts build shelter for the pumpkins so they don’t get too much sun and to protect them from pests and too much rain.

The weigh-in
8. Taking Creampuff’s measurements. By following a measuring chart the Liggetts can estimate with a fair amount of certainty what the final weight of the pumpkin will be. Measurements are taken from ground to ground, then from stem to blossom and then circumference. Liggett said when the combined measurements get to 400, it’s time to get excited. Creampuff was at 410 around Sept. 24 last year. “That’s when I knew we were really doing super.” Pumpkins grow on their side, as can be seen in this picture. Giant pumpkins can grow 35 to 40 pounds per day.
9. The Liggetts decided to take a smaller pumpkin in the patch to a weigh-in at Oakland Nursery in Columbus. John Pontius, who has been the giant pumpkin loader for several years and has helped Liggett load his pumpkins since Liggett started growing them, helps load the pumpkins. Pontius designed the pumpkin lift system.

Is it big enough?
10. Pumpkins have to be cut the night before the weigh-in because they lose 1 pound a day. This pumpkin is named Star. The pumpkins are different colors solely based on their genetics. The Liggetts say their light colored pumpkins have tended to be their larger pumpkins.

The thrill of victory
11. Creampuff was the 2007 Circleville Pumpkin Show winner at 1,524.5-pounds. There are strict rules regarding the Circleville Pumpkin Show. A pumpkin is not eligible unless it has been grown within 21 miles of Circleville.

Still not satisfied
12. Bob and Jo Liggett are raising another pumpkin to compete for top honors again at this year’s show. As of Aug. 9, their largest pumpkin measured 680 pounds; five days before that it had measured 550 pounds. The Pumpkin Show weigh-in is Wednesday morning, Oct. 15; visit OurOhio.org to find out how the Liggetts fared this year.

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Additional photos of the Liggetts’ giant pumpkin, Creampuff

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