Ontario grower’s 1,711-pound pumpkin nearly snagged top prize at Pumpkinfest. Then he was disqualified

When Jeff Warner strapped his 1,711-pound pumpkin to a trailer and set off for Port Elgin Pumpkinfest earlier this month, he knew a top prize wasn’t guaranteed. Still, the Englehart, Ont., grower says he was hoping for a shot.

Instead he was disqualified from the giant vegetable weigh-off. The culprit? A soft spot.

“About a week before I cut the stem, there was a tiny little soft spot on [the pumpkin] — and we’re talking the size of a loonie,” Warner told As It Happens guest host John Northcott. 

He knew the competition had strict rules about the condition of the entries. But Warner decided to make the nine-hour drive to the fair anyway, giant gourd in tow.

Judges of the Port Elgin Pumpkinfest said this soft spot disqualified Warner’s giant pumpkin from winning the heaviest pumpkin contest. (Submitted by Jeff Warner)

“I was going to the event no matter what,” said Warner. “I told myself I had a 50/50 chance of getting disqualified, so I decided let’s load it — it’s fun to go, even if it’s just showing people on the highway the pumpkin, that’s half the fun right there for the trip.”

Warner says he tried scraping away at the soft spot in hopes of slowing down the rot. But with every pit stop along the way, he says the hole grew bigger.

“I knew I was losing the battle, and I was just hoping I still fit into the competition,” said Warner. 

By the time he arrived at the festival, the damage was done. A judge told him the hole had to be no more than three inches wide for the pumpkin to qualify.

“He measured it and he said, ‘No it’s too big for the rule book,'” said Warner. “I’m bummed but at the same time, I fully understand that rules have to be followed.”

The pumpkin that did win, Warner says, weighed 1,542 pounds — nearly 170 pounds less than his six-by-six foot, waist-high garden giant.

And yet, Warner says he doesn’t regret the many hot, July evenings he spent on his hands and knees, pruning, watering and tending to his giant pumpkins.

Warner says he strapped his 1,711-pound pumpkin to his trailer and drove nine hours with the hopes of winning top prize at this year’s Port Elgin Pumpkinfest. (Submitted by Jeff Warner)

“As the time goes, you’re trying to beat yourself — get a bigger pumpkin every year than you’ve done before.”

And while his pumpkin may not have snagged the top prize at the fair, Warner says it’s still drawing attention. He says families have been stopping by to see his giant gourd and take pictures with it.

And then, he has other plans for his pumpkin, which will get a second life — er — death, a few hours north.

“My plan is to take it up a couple hours north of here and there is a polar habitat and we’ll feed it to the polar bears,” said Warner.