Long Valley Man's Prolific Pumpkin Breaks N.J. Record

That’s a lot of pie.

Long Valley’s Michael Starr has done it again, turning his front yard into a pumpkin-producing plantation, plucking this year’s mammoth fruit (yes, pumpkins are fruits) at a whopping 971 pounds.

Starr tested his front yard in 2014 when he took a stab at growing gigantic pumpkins, birthing a 863-pounder last year. He kindly donated the behemoth to Ort Farms to put on display during the fall season.

Starr went back to work on the pumpkin growing this year, with the season beginning in April. He tried growing two mammoths, but only one made it all the way through the season.

“This is actually the smaller of the two,” Starr said of the 971-pound pumpkin, now on display at Ort Farms and available for photo opportunities. “The other one I was growing was projected to hit about 1,200 pounds, but it grew a soft spot and we had to get rid of it.”

Starr said producing such massive pumpkins takes a lot of hard work and effort, making sure it’s being fertilized and watered properly on a daily basis. During the height of the growing season in late July and early August, the pumpkin was packing on anywhere between 35 and 40 pounds a day, Starr said, and growing by six inches in circumference. Starr said there were days he would come home from work and noticed a size difference from the time he left that morning.

At a September 26 weigh-in in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Starr’s pumpkin broke the New Jersey state record of 919 pounds, but the accolade was short lived. That same day, Chuck Radcliffe, of Warren, had his pumpkin weigh in at 1,415.5 pounds, which now stands as the state record.

The nation’s leader in 2015, however, is heavier than many automobiles, coming in at 2,145.5 pounds and was grown in Illinois, according to the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.

The numbers make Starr strive for more as he prepares for next season.

“I’m definitely going to continue growing pumpkins,” Starr said. “I know what to do now and how to grow them this large. You learn more each year.”

Starr said that while his children, ages 8 and 4, are pretty indifferent toward the new family hobby, his wife, Hannah, has grown pretty competitive herself.

“Last year she didn’t really care,” he said. “But she’s pretty competitive. This year she said, ‘Mike, you have to beat those numbers next year.’”

Photo Credit: Ort Farms