Imagine a pumpkin putting on 20, 30, even 40 to 60 pounds per day. It happens! With the North Carolina State Fair cancelled this year, the public won’t get to witness the Great Pumpkin and Watermelon Weigh-Off, but you can listen in to the latest episode of Farms, Food and You podcast as three North Carolinians with a passion for horticulture talk about the art, the science and the fun of growing giants.
Our Guests
Susie Zuerner of Arden, North Carolina, is so passionate about the art and science of growing giant produce that she’s volunteered for years to help organize watermelon and pumpkin weigh-offs at the North Carolina State Fair. Her biggest watermelon weighed 239 pounds, and her biggest pumpkin was over 994 pounds.
Elijah Meck of Randleman, North Carolina, works as a crop protection scientist for a major agricultural biotechnology company. He’s been growing giants since he was a graduate student studying entomology at North Carolina State University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2010. He started out growing pumpkins and branched out watermelons, tomatoes, gourds, sunflowers and more. He represents the Southern United States on the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.
Billy Caudle is an avid gardener and the 4-H youth program assistant in Currituck County, North Carolina. The city councilor in Elizabeth City and retired senior manager with FedEx joined Currituck’s Cooperative Extension staff in 2018 to oversee the 4-H day camping and community service and restitution programs.
Brandon Huber is a Ph.D. candidate at North Carolina State University who’s been a horticultural enthusiast since his childhood in Pennsylvania. As a master’s student, he worked on breeding stevia plants, and during his doctoral studies, he looked at how using certain lighting could improve the growth of tomato seedlings indoors. He also owns a rare corpse flower that’s attracted thousands of visitors to NC State eager to watch — and smell — the flower’s beautiful but stinky opening.