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It ’s a fact — theExchangeremains a vivacious source of unequalled , awe - suitable seeds because of our passionate lister plough and their distinctive interests . One such lister is Bloomington , Indiana , resident physician Steve Strickler , a grower of state disc - breaking green groceries . Having spend his whole life gardening , he consider connect Seed Savers Exchange in 1987 as an opportunity to feed his rage for rule and saving diverse seeds and connect with a community of other source savers .
By 1996 , Steve was sharing his own seeds on the Exchange , most often tomatoes acquired from other listers and some commercial sources . Steve has also introduce his own tomato varieties , include ‘ Bogeywine ’ ( a ‘ Yellow Brandywine ’ cross ) and ‘ Bronze Orb ’ ( an accidental cross between ‘ Green Zebra ’ and an unknown black tomato ) .
Around 2014 , Steve took a dive into the man of militant tomato and pumpkin spring up and did n’t take long to accomplish winner . ( Yes , he has many champion veggies to his name ! ) learn on to determine more about his wow - worthy garden truck , highlighted in the exposure below .
1,000 Pound Pumpkins
Steve start his elephantine pumpkins at the end of April or beginning of May , contend the temperature with an galvanic heater for the first couple week . autumn pumpkin , he notes , can mature up to 40 pound sterling a twenty-four hours at their peak ! This pumpkin , dear named ‘ Putty , ’ would have been his bombastic in 2020 — Steve estimates it reached 1,425 pounds but was disqualified from competition because of rot , probably due to body of water accretion or a hungry vole .
How does one move a 1,000 - plus pound sign pumpkin successfully ? Well , it involves a mess of teamwork , as well as a homemade lifting tripod composed of three 16 - foot timberland connected to a concatenation hoist . Underneath the pumpkin is a steel lifting ring .
Pumpkin competitions looked dissimilar in 2020 , with many DoS carnival invalidate due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Instead of gathering at a state carnival , these pumpkin growers assembled outside at one grower ’s farm . Steve ’s 1,197 - Irish punt pumpkin take 2d berth , tip the scales at just 14 Irish pound shy of the winning pumpkin .
Record-Breaking Tomatoes
Steve grows record - breaking giant tomatoes too . This vast tomato garner him first office at the 2019 Indiana State Fair . Steve ’s conjuration for arise tumid tomatoes let in grafting his tomato plants and identifying “ mega - blooms . ”
In 2017 , Steve localise the state record for gargantuan tomatoes in Indiana at 5.24 pounds . In 2021 , he blast that record with love apple weighing 8.355 pound !
And finally , Steve shares that the most important principle of gardening is “ to always have fun . ” Here he and his wife , Kathy , enjoy their garden “ cocktail tabular array . ” Visit Steve ’s profile to request his tomato and crush seeds through the Exchange .
About the Exchange
TheExchange , is a nurseryman - to - nurseryman seed trade that Seed Savers Exchange has facilitated since 1975 . Since then , participant worldwide have share tens of thousands of assortment , many of which can not be found anywhere else . Become part of our participatory preservation connection by joining the Exchange today !
Originally print November 4 , 2020 . update January 31 , 2025 .
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