Record Squashed

Go ahead. Take you time. We’ll wait. This picture is worth a thousand stares! Welcome to the bounty of the annual State Fair of Virginia Giant Vegetable Competition, held recently in Culpepper. In the foreground you’ll find the fruits of gardener Paul Jarosh in the form of a 103 pound Butternut Squash. He knew he had something special when he noticed the fruit (remember squash is a fruit as seeds reside inside) bursting at the rate of a foot per week earlier this Fall. Weeks of tender loving care later, reps from the Guinness Book of World Records were on-hand at the celebratory weigh-in to personally bestow the honors. While you think about exactly how much soup this specimen will yield, draw you eyes to the WILD background where you’ll notice a 756 pound pumpkin, a 260 pound watermelon, a giant zucchini of unknown proportions and what looks to be a beastly tomato. Or a persimmon? Or a smooth pumpkin. Whatever the case, this is what happens when inflation hits your veggie patch.

Post Script: Paul Jarosh’s fete was short-lived. A farmer in Michigan, just seven days after this photo was taken, produced yet another Butternut Squash, this time tipping the scales at 104.5 pounds. NO ill tempers were exchanged as Paul and the Michigan farmer are friends who share best-practices in rearing giant produce. Meanwhile, the Guinness contingent (which had unexpectedly flown in special for the occasion) was sighted just off-camera gesturing silently: Are we DONE here?