DENVER ( KDVR ) — An Aurora firefighter’s side hobby resulted in a state record after he grew a 1,955-pound pumpkin in his backyard.
Brad Bledsoe began his knack for growing pumpkins four years ago when he grew, what he thought was, a large pumpkin. After growing his first pumpkin in his home just north of Fort Collins, he took the 200-pound pumpkin to a contest, which turned out to be one of the smallest ones there.
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Since then, he’s been growing pumpkins bigger and bigger.
The year after he grew his first large pumpkin, Bledsoe said he grew the second-biggest pumpkin in Colorado in the same patch in his front yard. This year, he broke the state record.
While Bledsoe planned on waiting until October to weigh his pumpkins, one of them wouldn’t make it due to a mouse bite. Fearing it wouldn’t qualify for the next official weighing contest nearby, Bledsoe packed up the pumpkin and took it out west.