Two Rapid City gardeners will ship 1,500 pounds of pumpkins to Sioux Falls for the annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off at a rural apple orchard this week.

On the sidelines, John Bolins will watch his friends Lisa Evans and Matt Winey carefully load their two 800- and 700-pound pumpkins for transport across the state representing pumpkin patches across western South Dakota. Bolins, Evans and Winey are all part of a group of extreme pumpkin growers that have set a future goal of launching their own pumpkin weigh-off on this side of the state.

Bolins' labor-intensive odyssey began last spring at Lowes, where he casually picked out a seed packet.

"I went nuts," he said of his involvement in cultivating a heavyweight contender.

For Bolins, 66, a first-time extreme pumpkin grower, it was a rollercoaster summer of gardening. Starting out with eight seedlings, Bolins planted the specially cultivated seeds (Dill Atlantic) in his backyard. Each day found Bolins trimming leaves, applying a mix of liquid calcium and liquid fish, fretting about pollination and working on a feeding schedule from July 1-22. He also was fertilizing the soils about three times a week and building shade to protect the burgeoning vegetables from hail, wind and scorching heat. As the pumpkins grew, so did the watering chores.

"Once they get going, you're giving them 300 to 400 gallons a week," he said.

Farming was tough. Bolins' pumpkin patch was hit hard with an early frost, rot caused problems and one pumpkin died for no apparent reason.

Of the five surviving pumpkins, one tipped the scales at 200 pounds. Unfortunately, for all that monstrous growth, the pumpkins aren't very tasty - most growers break them up and use them for fertilizer, he said.

Bolins plans to carve the 200-pounder into a giant jack-o'-lantern.

With the experience gained this year, Bolins plans to cultivate more sumo-sized pumpkins in the future.

"Once you get wrapped up in it, it's almost addictive," he said.

For more information, growing diaries and tips, go to www.bigpumpkins.com.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com