His 653-Lb Squash Is World's Biggest

His 653-Lb Squash is World's Biggest AG WORLD Ag World 13-1-18 Last fall Leonard Stellpflug, Rush, N.Y., harvested a 653 lb. squash, the world's biggest, according to the World Pumpkin Confederation. The previous world's record was 595 1/2 lbs. Stellpflug's "biggest ever" world champion "Giant Grey Mammoth" measured 28-in. high, 45-in. wide, and 46-in. long. Circumference was nearly 12 ft. and during its peak period of growth it grow nearly 20 lbs. per day. "You could see it grow several inches each day," says Stellpflug. It took four men to lift the mammoth squash off the ground and onto a pickup bed. Stellpflug then drove the squash to New York City for an appearance on the David Letterman show. "The secret is to give each plant a lot of space and to plant seed bred for size," says Stellpflug, who bought the seed from Tom Mitchell, Akron, Ohio. Mitchell had produced the biggest squash grown in 1987 at 574 lbs. (not a world record). Stellpflug planted two squash seeds 45 ft. apart, giving each a 45 by 50 ft. growing area. He pruned all but one blossom per plant. He also watered the squash plants daily during the drought, applying 1,400 gal. per week or the equivalent of 1 inch of rain." Stellpflug staked the vines down every five days to keep the wind from twisting the vines up and splitting them and to keep the vines on the ground, encouraging auxiliary roots to grow. "The vines became mammoth - as big as small tree trunks," notes Stellpflug. The previous fall Stellpflug had planted rye, plowing it under late last April as green fertilizer. He then applied well rotted manure, spreading half a manure spreader load per plant and concentrating it near the center of the 50 by 50 ft. plot. He also applied 22 lbs. of 10-20-20 commercial fertilizer. After the contest, Stellpflug painted the mammoth squash orange and carved out the world's biggest "jack o' lantern" for Halloween. "The squash tasted a lot like pump-kin," he notes. Stellpflug has been breeding pumpkins commercially for seven years (two years in competition), but squash for only two years. In 1987 he took third place in the World Pumpkin Confederation's pumpkin growing contest. "The pumpkins didn't do well last year, probably because of the hot weather," he says. "My goal this year is to produce a 700 lb. pumpkin, which would be the world's record." Other big squash entered in the squash growing contest last year were grown by Ray and Karen Waterman of Collins, N.Y. (5611/2 lbs.) and Will Neily of Spa Springs, Nova Scotia (509 lbs.). Stellpflug sells 6 seeds from his world record squash for $10 or 10 seeds for $15. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leonard Stellpflug, 171 Works Road, Honeyoye Falls, N.Y. 14472 (ph 716 624-1079).

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