Giant pumpkin ready for fair
By JOHN GOODALL Tribune ChronicleArticle Photos
AUSTINTOWN - Despite his reputation for great pumpkins, a New Road man is no Jack Lanterman.
That's a moniker already taken by a distant cousin of his, who also sits on the board of directors of the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers Association.
Frank Lanterman, 49, has shown that lacking a really cool name for the hobby is no obstacle to growing monsters on the vine. In 2004, he finished second in a world weigh-off at Park's Garden Center with a 1,192-entry in what he considers the Super Bowl of pumpkin contests and second that year at the Canfield Fair with a 714-pound submission.
This area is one of the most competitive in the United States and Canada, Lanterman said. On the first Saturday in October, when weigh-offs are held throughout those countries, Park's entrants have finished first for top-10 average the past two years.
''It's tough to win anything around here,'' the New Road man said.
Lanterman will be hauling a pumpkin this week to the Canfield Fair. He believes it will top 1,000 pounds, once regarded as the sound barrier of pumpkin growing.
His best effort though, will be saved for the Park's weigh-off. It is still swelling in his patch.
The giants are actually a pale orange or yellow variety of squash. True Jack O'Lantern-style pumpkins weigh only a tenth or less of their oversized relatives, Lanterman noted.
In the days leading up to a competition, the pumpkins are watered heavily to reach their top weight potential.
But there's a risk. The additional stress could shatter their shells.
Then, the pumpkin is worthless. Entrants with breaks in their walls or even severe weak spots are disqualified.
''We have some aggressive guys in the club,'' Lanterman said of the Ohio Valley group. ''They say, we're gonna show 'em or blow 'em. It's a lot of effort to end up with junk.''
Lanterman doesn't wait in the patch hoping for the Great Pumpkin to appear like Linus in the comic strip, Peanuts. He works to make it happen.
A grower with designs on making waves in area competitions must put in two to three hours a day for months, the New Road man said.
One of the key elements to producing huge pumpkins is soil preparation, Lanterman said. ''The secret in growing these is the organic material you put in the ground,'' he noted.
Lanterman has mixed as much as 30 large pickup loads of old manure and cast-off material like corn stocks into his patch. Each March he has his soil tested and fertilizes according to the results.
On May 1 of each year he plants seeds in an incubator box with light bulbs. They germinate in just three to four days.
He has small greenhouses that allow him to put the tiny plants in the ground earlier than the season would allow. That prevents them from becoming root-bound in pots.
Then he begins the process of burying roots off the main stem, pruning and watering. On hot days, Lanterman said he has put as much as 100 gallons of water on the patch.
It is from a hand-dug well or rain water that he saves. The Austintown man said that the chemicals in municipal water can change the PH of the ground for the worse, and should be avoided.
His plants come from seeds from different parts of the country. As they grow, he cross-pollinates them.
''They're all crosses,'' Lanterman said. ''That's how we keep getting them bigger and bigger.''
When crossing is finished, the flowers are tied shut to prevent bees from bringing in an unwanted type of pollen, he said.
Just seeing the results is much of the fun, he added.
''You can literally watch them grow,'' Lanterman said. Once he had a pumpkin expand nine inches in a single day.
Not every year is a success. Temperatures and the amount of rainfall can cause problems.
Deer, groundhogs and insects can damage the growing vines. Hail storms can rip apart leaves that are critical to a plant's growth.
The Austintown man has been growing giant pumpkins for about 11 years. It is a dream he has harbored since he was a boy when he and his grandmother would talk about it.
Lanterman's fenced patch attracts plenty of notice. It is in the front yard near the busy roadway.
Passing motorists often stop by to get a closer look at the giants. Some take photographs of their children with the patch in the background.
''Everybody sees it,'' Lanterman said with a smile.
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pahootaman
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08-25-08 9:33 AM
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giant pumpkin = giant pumpkin pie = awesome!
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