In August, Charlie Lopresti tiptoed around his pumpkin patch in Buxton, carefully checking for holes. He gave one of his gourds a hearty smack, listening to the “thump” before confirming its walls were thick enough to stand a chance of breaking the state record set by Edwin Pierpont — 2,121.5 pounds.
What fun would it be to boast without being sure? So, he kept the excitement to himself (for the most part).
Like many growers, Lopresti, inspired by the prospect of pushing boundaries, has doubled his efforts in the past decade, devising a raft of strategies, from new pruning techniques to homemade greenhouses.
He had two giant Atlantic pumpkins this year. The “smaller” one weighed 2,070 pounds at the Cumberland Fair on Sept. 23. The larger, his entry at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) Weigh-off on Oct. 6, tipped the scales at a whopping 2,365.5 pounds.
The Volunteer Weigh-off is traditionally held one week before the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest. Growers compete for cash prizes (with a total purse of $2,500) in the adults and children’s divisions. Then, nearly all the fruit weighed at Louis Doe Home Center gets used for street art and, if they’re big enough, as boats for the regatta.
The GPC Weigh-off is held on Sunday after the Volunteer Weigh-off. Professional growers bring their giant pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, watermelons, and marrows to the scale to compete for a $10,000 prize. If a new state record is achieved, an additional $1,000 bonus is offered.
“It started as an effort to support the agricultural community during a quieter time of the year,” said Lisa Conway Macnair, co-chair of the Pumpkinfest. “Now, it’s taken off.”
Lopresti won the top prize this year, breaking the state record by over 200 pounds. Sarah Whitty came in second with her pumpkin “Martha Stewart” weighing 1,593.5 pounds. Thanks to a strong turnout, Pumpkinfest will have more than enough fruit for all its festivities, Macnair assured – “including the pumpkin drop at Great Salt Bay Elementary School.”
Advice from the runner-up
Whitty began growing pumpkins in 2013. The GPC Weigh-off in Damariscotta was the first competition she entered, which she now jokingly blames for sparking her “addiction.”
“I don’t hike, paddle, or camp in the summer,” said Whitty. “Growing a giant pumpkin is that intense.”
After buying her home in Veazie, Whitty noticed that the previous owners had thrown their jack-o-lantern into the compost pile, which sprouted the following year. Inspired to learn more about cultivation, she contacted Lopresti, who gave her some seeds from his garden.
In the competitive sphere, the goal is to grow a pumpkin from the size of a ping-pong ball to that of a small car by June.
“As advice, I tell people what not to do based on my mistakes,” said Whitty. “A big thing is controlling diseases, like bacterial wilt caused by the cucumber beetle. One year, I lost all my gourds to that.”
Whitty has attended other weigh-offs, like the Deerfield Fair in New Hampshire, but she finds the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest incomparable. “Volunteers turn pumpkins into all sorts of things—it’s the best,” she said.
The fate of the pumpkin depends on its use. Splattered pulp from the pumpkin drop is donated to feed pigs at local farms. Painted or bleached pumpkins used for the street harm animals, as do decorated vehicles—pumpkin derby cars and regatta boats. Those seeds get collected and redistributed to growers each spring.
“Of course, I want to win,” said Whitty, acknowledging she came in second place. “Us growers make the same sacrifice every year. Even though we compete, at the end of the day, we’re still rooting for each other.”
‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Lopresti.”
Lopresti has grown pumpkins for most of his life. He and his father used to harvest 200-pound pumpkins, which he recalled “seemed huge” when he was a small kid.
“Every year, I set the bar higher,” said Lopresti, who started growing competitively after buying his own home in 2009. “We brought pumpkins to the first GPC weigh-off in Damariscotta (2012) and have continued, ever since.”
The tradition has been passed down through the generations. Now, both Lopresti’s daughters help out — their pumpkins tend to be used for street art, while his are often part of the regatta.
So, how does one go from the garden to the record books?
According to Lopresti, with so much out of one’s control, a good starting point is addressing what is, like soil health. It helped that his property was previously a dairy farm, benefiting from years of on-site composting, but his methods have changed over time and he shared a few tips.
The most successful pumpkin patches are often maintained using soil amendments such as manure, compost, leaves, lime, agricultural sulfur, and fertilizers. Some growers use hoop houses or cold frames to warm the ground and fences to deter deer and groundhogs.
Lopresti prunes by removing third-stage growth from the side vines and planting them in the soil to encourage root growth at each leaf node. He has stopped foliar feeding and now only tends to the roots with fertilizer. And now, in May, he heats the soil with a 40-foot gutter cable to spark early growth. These shifts, among others, have made a difference.
“There’s no direct science,” said Lopresti.“But I’m always happy to offer advice. It’s thrilling to see new growers join the community.”
Weekend festivities
On Friday, Main Street will be lined with 70 pumpkins ready to be used as a canvas for artists’ whimsical designs. Saturday and Sunday will feature the pumpkin parade and derby, with festivities rounding out on Monday morning at the regatta—with three motorboats and five paddleboats this year.
For a complete schedule of events and parking suggestions, visit the festival website at mainepumpkinfest.com/.
“Going to work, paying bills; there’s too much structure in our lives,” sighed Lopresti. “Sometimes you need some nonsense to shake you out of a rut. That’s what this festival is. It’s good ole’ fashioned community fun.”