Meet the man with the biggest pampoen in the country.
Jacob du Plessis, from Vyeboom in Villiersdorp, was crowned the 2019 champion at the 9th annual Giant Pumpkin Festival in Heidelberg this weekend, with a moerse pampoen weighing in at an astonishing 601.8kg.
His monster veg was just short of the South African record of 613kg, held by Peet Joubert.
“It’s third time lucky! The furthest I have come in the competition before was in 2017 when I came fourth with a pumpkin of over 300kg,” says an excited Jacob.
“I knew my pumpkin was a contender for one of the top three places, but was still surprised when it came out tops.”
Second and third place went to husband and wife duo, Piet and Elizna Lotz from Riversdale, with pumpkins weighing 510.6kg and 460.8kg respectively.
The winning pumpkin was grown from pumpkin seeds specially harvested from one of last year’s biggest pumpkins at the Heidelberg Giant Pumpkin Competition, sponsored by Shoprite and Checkers for the past eight years.
Along with the sought-after title of Champion of the 2019 Giant Pumpkin Competition, Du Plessis also received R17 500 in cash.
Second and third place received R8 000 and R4 000 respectively.
Prizes were also awarded for the prettiest and lelikste pumpkins.
The two-day Pumpkin Festival is a one-of-a-kind event, including a MTB race, trail run, golf competition, bowling competition, 4X4 challenge, potjiekos competition, fun fair and live music.
In keeping with Heidelberg’s strong community spirit, proceeds from the festival will be put back into the town.
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