VWH Campbell, Post-Gazette Larry Checkon, in his pumpkin patch in Northern Cambria, keeps his eye on his prized 1,469-pound pumpkin. Shortly after this photo was taken, Checkon's pumpkin was taken to a weigh-in in Altoona and set a world record. Click photo for larger image. Growing the Great Pumpkin: Larry Checkon, the likely world-record holder, has some tips for growing giant pumpkins: Start with good seed; don't bother with store-bought. Find a grower who will part with some of the precious seed from a big variety. Improve the soil. Dig lots and lots of organic matter into the soil and check the pH. It should be between 6 and 7. Choose one pumpkin per plant. Remove all the others and bury the vines around the chosen one. Covering the vines with soil helps protect them from squash vine borer and provides a better root system. Water -- a lot. When pumpkins get big, they might need as much as 100 gallons a day per plant. For more information on obtaining seed and growing giant pumpkins, go to www.pgpga.com.

The audience stood in stunned silence when Larry Checkon's giant pumpkin was lifted onto the scale in a Sam's Club parking lot in Altoona.

"That's the quietest world-record reaction I've ever heard," said a friend to Mr. Checkon, who has tried for seven years to grow the world's heaviest pumpkin.

Well, it appears he's done it. At 1,469 pounds, his white monster is now the world-record holder. And though there a few more weigh-ins scheduled around the country, Mr. Checkon's pretty sure he has the record.

"It's kind of a shock at first. You really can't believe it. You sort of feel like you're dreaming," he said.

For weeks before the Pennsylvania Giant Pumpkin Growers Association weigh-in, he had tossed and turned, unable to get more than a few hours of sleep. He was haunted by memories of 1999, when he thought the biggest pumpkin ever grown was out in his field in Northern Cambria, Cambria County. But just before the weigh-in, the pumpkin split and became ineligible. Instead, his wife, Gerry, won with one weighing 1,131 pounds, a world record then.

The couple spend much of each summer cherishing and cultivating these goliaths in hopes of winning the $2,000 prize a world record brings.

"These pumpkins are just like our children. You nurture them, you talk to them. Then they let you down. It's just heartbreaking," Mr. Checkon said.

Of course, every gardener ensnared by the pumpkin vine is not looking to grow the Great Pumpkin. A great-looking pumpkin is just as good.

David Fleischman began growing them as a child, in anticipation of jack-o'-lanterns and candy in pillow cases. By the time Halloween arrived, big orange pumpkins were scattered across his North Hills yard. He sold them to neighbors and received pies, cookies and breads in return. He was hooked.

Now living in the North Side's Manchester neighborhood, he grows pumpkins in containers and on a friend's 30-foot-square plot in Bethel Park. But he's not growing the typical orange jack-o'-lanterns he harvested as a child.

He grows 'Baby Boo,' a tiny pure white pumpkin, and 'White Knight,' which is bigger, up to 15 pounds. Then there's the deep orange, almost red 'Rouge Vif D'Etampes,' also called the Cinderella pumpkin because its flattened shape resembles the one that turned into a carriage.

Last year, Mr. Fleischman loved 'Moonglow,' which stayed green, and 'Cheese,' a Velveeta-colored squat oval. This year, he fell in love with an unnamed variety he found at Giant Eagle. It's white with orange veins.

"It is the coolest thing you could ever see," he said.

Mr. Fleischman bought two so he could save the seed, hoping it grows true next season. He buys most of his seeds at Kmart, which carries the Martha Stewart line.

He and the Checkons say pumpkins are easy to grow as long as you have good soil and the room to let the vines ramble. If you're short on space, try bush pumpkins. They're better behaved.

Pumpkins need soil enriched with organic matter, the more the better because they are heavy feeders. They will grow with a little shade but prefer full sun. Mr. Checkon says this was an ideal summer for pumpkins -- hot nights and lots of sun.

Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette David Fleischman of Manchester bought the white pumpkin with orange veins at Giant Eagle; he grew the other two himself. Click photo for larger image.

Start seeds after any chance of frost has passed, and plant them in hills (groups, not actual hills) on 4-foot centers.

One common problem is lack of pollination. When this occurs, little pumpkins that were attached to the female flower shrivel up and die. If the bees aren't doing their job, the gardener must step in and help. Male flowers don't have a small fruit attached, and they usually open early in the morning. Select a male flower and pull off the petals to expose the stamen containing the pollen. To make sure the pollen is mature, brush the stamen and watch for small yellow specks.

Using the stamen itself or a small paint brush, softly rub the pollen onto the inside stigma of the female flower. Pollination is successful if the pumpkin stays on the vine.

To grow giants, Mr. Checkon starts with special seed and removes all but the most promising fruit when they are small. His soon-to-be world-record holder was a secret until a farm tour brought 60 visitors by. When word got out, people came from all over to gape and take pictures. For a month, the pumpkin grew 40 pounds per day.

In fact, the reason the crowd was so quiet at the weigh-in was that the huge white tipped the scales at 300 pounds less than expected. It still beat the second heaviest in the state, grown by Quinn Werner, by 137 pounds. The closest anyone else came to the world record was an entry by Andy Wolf of Little Valley, N.Y., that weighed a little over 1,407 pounds, 61 shy of Checkon's effort.

"I had mixed emotions because it came up so light. But by that time I was just emotionally drained," he said.

If you're short on space but long on determination, you can grow pumpkins in containers, like Mr. Fleischman. He uses 15- to 20-gallon containers. He trains the vines vertically on a trellis, a fence or anything that they will grab onto. Even large pumpkins will work this way.

"It cuts down on vacations because you've got to make sure they get watered," he said, laughing.