Langley giant pumpkin contest crowns winner
Winning pumpkin was an Atlantic Giant weighing in at 473 kilograms
A pumpkin growing competition crowned a new champion in Fort Langley this weekend.
The winning pumpkin belonged to David Chan of Richmond and was an Atlantic Giant that weighed in at 473 kilograms (1,043 pounds).
He'll be awarded a $500 cash prize.
It's the second year the Aldor Acres Family Farm has hosted a pumpkin weigh-in.
Melissa Anderson, spokeswoman for the Aldor Acres Family Farm, said hot weather this summer has resulted in larger than life pumpkins.
"It's not everyday that you see pumpkins that even the strongest Dad can't lift. There's some coming in that are over a thousand pounds and you need to use the tractor with chains and special ropes to lift these pumpkins. They are some big boys."
Anderson says competitors baby their prized specimens with daily care and secret growing techniques to have them bulk up to more than double their usual size.
Atlantic Giants, for example, usually weight just 500 pounds.
According to the Guinness World Records, the world's heaviest pumpkin weighed 1,818 pounds and 5 ounces and was presented by Jim and Kelsey Bryson at the Prince Edward County Pumpkinfest, Wellington, Ont. on Oct. 15, 2011.
With files from the CBC's Luke Brocki