Rural
1 May, 2021
Mindens Geoff Frohloff new pump-king
Minden’s Geoff Frohloff only just outgrew a first-time youth entrant with his 196kg pumpkin, to win the Royal Queensland Show’s (Ekka) Giant Pumpkin Competition at the Brisbane Showgrounds.
Geoff’s almost 200kg giant gourd saw him claim the coveted Champion Heaviest Pumpkin of Show title, taking home a total of $1,050 in prize money.
“I used a lot of fertiliser and mulch, plus during the hot weather I watered the pumpkins every day – some days they received 1,000 litres of water,” Mr Frohloff said.
The veteran grower, who still holds the 261.5kg Ekka record set in 2015, was almost pipped by eight-year-old youth entrant Jimmy Finch from Bowenville with his whopping 171kg record setting youth entry.
It was Jimmy’s first time growing a giant pumpkin, after being given the seeds by his teacher at Bowenville State School last September. He not only won the youth class, but he also smashed the current 64kg Ekka youth record set by Angela Kalkaus in 2015.
Jimmy said he only expected his pumpkin to grow to supermarket size.
“I watered it, put fertiliser on it and I sang to it,” he said. Geoff’s son and 2019 Ekka pump-king Tony Frohloff took out second and third place in the Open class with his 174kg and 171.5kg pumpkins.
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