Gigantic gourd

NEW?GLASGOW - Julia's Pizza might be serving a lot of pumpkin pizzas over the next few weeks.
Since May, Pierre Tannous, owner of Julia's, has been growing a giant pumpkin beside the New Glasgow pizzeria. Today, he'll take it to the Windsor-West Hants Pumpkin Festival to participate in the annual weigh-off.
The weigh-off determines the heaviest pumpkin grown in Atlantic Canada each year. Tannous is hoping he'll be able to bring home the gold.
"They said if there's a hole or a certain spot, someone could be disqualified, but if it's good all the way around, we've got a chance," Tannous said.
He'll represent Pictou County this year at the festival. Tom Dudka, a Linacy man who in the past has grown pumpkins that won the Windsor pumpkin fest, admits that Tannous has him beat this year.
"He dethroned the king," Dudka jokes. "But it's for this year only - I'll be back."
It was one of the seeds from Dudka's own giant pumpkins that Tannous planted. It was his tips that helped Tannous grow two giant pumpkins from the same plant.
The first, a 400-pound monster, won first place at the Pictou-North Colchester Exhibition last month.
"It was an amazing plant, it grew two monsters," he said.
Tannous is estimating his pumpkin will weigh in around 1,000 lbs, while Dudka's trained eye estimated that it would weigh in around 830 lbs.
To present the award, judges look for a mixture of size, shape and colour. It's Dudka's hope that the world record will one day be brought to Pictou County - although the two men may battle it out to determine who gets to hold that record.
With the help of Dudka, Tannous was able to rig a makeshift sling to lift the weighty pumpkin high enough to load it on a truck. He'll set out early this morning for the festival.
Whether he wins or loses today, Tannous says this won't be the last backyard pumpkin he grows. He's planning on saving some of the seeds from this year's giant pumpkin and planting them again next spring.
"I'll definitely do it again," he said. "It's a hobby for me."
When asked what he would do with the pumpkin, he said, "I'll be making lots of pumpkin pie."