Lords of the Gourd

Monster pumpkins - the obsession of extreme gardeners hoping to grow a world-record holder for competition at the Mr. Universe of horticulture. The extreme gardeners who enter the annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off have one obsessive ambition: To grow a world record 1500-pound pumpkin and thus enter the hallowed halls of gardening glory. These gurus of the gourd nurture their fruits through harsh weather, animal attacks, and even vandalism to produce glorious pumpkins of monster proportion. Some call growing giant vegetables for competitions a hobby, others call it a sport, most call it an obsession. We encounter quirky and endearing growers who tend, pamper and coddle their plants as if they are children; coaxing them to grow to unnatural proportions. Of course, there are rumors of creative techniques used by determined growers -- people who'll go to any lengths to raise a winner: spraying the fruit with milk or injecting it directly into the flesh, cradling the pumpkin in its own hammock, talking to it, surrounding the pumpkin patch with end-to-end mousetraps. Some contenders take to sleeping in the garden in the final days before competition to ward off saboteurs. And of course, the growers must diligently fend off the vicious natural enemy of the pumpkin - the woodchuck. We follow Joe Pukos and his fellow competitors through the final harrowing days of harvest and then the long journey across state with the bulging behemoths strapped into the back of their pick-ups. Joe is a real contender for the top prize - at least until last minute rumors circulate that another grower has a pumpkin that will break the world record. At the Cooperstown, New York weigh-off, the massive pumpkins are hoisted one by one onto the competition scales and the moment of truth finally arrives.