Colorado firefighter’s side hobby could break state record with over 2,000 pound pumpkin

One local man’s journey to growing the state’s largest pumpkin started four years ago with an empty spot in the Aurora firefighter’s front yard and a seed that grew into an unexpected large pumpkin. Brad Bledsoe wanted to grow a big pumpkin. So he planted one seed in his front yard and that pumpkin grew to 200 pounds. He said it was like the pride and joy of his neighborhood. He entered a contest and it ended about as one of the smallest pumpkins.

The nest year he said he grew the second-biggest pumpkin in the state in the same patch in his front yard. After that, he grew the biggest pumpkin in Colorado for the year. This year he is back for more.

This year he is growing three giant pumpkins, except this time he’s not throwing seeds into his front yard. This year he planted in a 3,000-square foot tunnel in his backyard, and as of mid-September, all three are measuring to be over the state record, which sits at 1,783 pounds according to Colorado Pumpkins.

Within the next few weeks, each pumpkin will be taken to a contest to be weighed. He estimates that each will weight over 2,000 pounds. Once the pumpkins are  ready, he loads them in a truck using a forklift and weights them at a Great Pumpkin Commonwealth event, which take place all over the country. He could win thousands of dollars.

This year one of the pumpkins is heading to California, while the other two will be weighed in Aurora and Fort Collins.

After the contest is over, he sells the pumpkins and rents them out. If he het the pumpkins back, his family will carve them for Halloween and sell the seeds, feed the bison at CSU and take some seeds to plant for next year.

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