Pumpkin grower breaks state record

Rick Maggi has “recultivated” his state title.

The 1,100 pumpkin he grew at his Bonners Ferry home this year shattered the Idaho state record gourd by 60 pounds.

Maggi broke the record set by Brian Christensen of Rexburg in 2007 with a 1,040 pumpkin. Christensen broke Maggi’s old record of 1,011 set in 2006.

Maggi set the 2008 record during the Oct. 11 weigh-in at the Pacific Northwest Giant Pumpkin Growers Club event in Shoreline, Wash. Getting there was no easy task, but was worth it.

“I just feel like it’s a very satisfying accomplishment, with all the time I spent,” said Maggi, a program specialist with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “What really made it worth it was when my daughter said it was the best day of her life. She’s 13 and for a 13-year-old to say that . . .”

Growing these massive pumpkins requires seeds with a very good genetic background that can turn out at least a 1,000-pound pumpkin. Weather, fertilizer and luck help.

“There’s so many things that can go wrong between windstorms, frost, bad soil and temperatures,” Maggi said.

Since the weigh-off occurred after Bonners Ferry got its first frost, Maggi built a 900-square-foot greenhouse around the pumpkin and a second one.

“That’s how I resolved the frost issue,” he said.

Maggi’s wife, Linda, called the news of the state record pumpkin “relief.”

“It was just a bad year,” Linda Maggi said. “He just had a lot of problems with the cold weather and he had one split. It’s supposed to be a fun hobby. He has an obsessive personality and it turned into an obsession.”