Ortman's long, hot summer ends in pumpkin tragedy

CHILLICOTHE - Giant pumpkin growing isn't for the faint of heart.

Months ahead of last week's big weigh-in, Rusty Ortman — the winner of the 2015 Giant Pumpkin Weigh-in contest at the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show — set out to defend his title. Ultimately, he was done in by a combination of bad weather and bad luck that put him out of the running for the contest this year.

Ortman, 27, let the Gazette into his pumpkin patch for his fourth growing season to document the ups and downs of growing the oversized gourds.

April 19

Ortman and his father, Tom, set up a structure to cover the pumpkin patch at the Ortman Family Greenhouse on Reo Drive. Rusty likes to have complete control over the watering of his pumpkins, preferring to use a drip irrigation system. The plastic needs to be pulled completely tight so rain water doesn't collect on the top. Not many pumpkin growers use a structure like Ortman's, though. "Very few people use a structure to grow in," he said. "Without it people have no control of the water and can only be at nature's mercy."

May 3

Ortman mixes a combination of two fungicides, a growth hormone, and three fertilizers together before he plants his giant pumpkins. "I feel like a mad scientist sometimes," Ortman said. He uses two gallons of his mixtures on each of his four 10-day-old plants. The vines are planted so they lean away from the first leaf on the plant to make sure they grow outward in the right direction.

Ortman planted four plants this year that he started from seeds, each with different genetics. One seed came from his prize-winning pumpkin last year, while others came from record holders in the United States, Switzerland and the North American record holder. Ortman gets his seeds from networking with other growers or going to seed auctions. "However, by trial and error, it seems like the seeds grown locally do the best," he said, attributing their success to the genetics in the seeds already being accustomed to the local climate.

June 20

Ortman self-pollinates his pumpkin vines at the Ortman Family Greenhouse. To protect the genetics of the vine, he uses only pollen from the same vine to pollinate the flower. "Every serious grower will hand pollinate as I do to ensure pure genetics for the future generations," he said. The only other way to pollinate is called "open pollination," or letting bees do the work. Usually, new growers will do this, or occasionally an unexpected pumpkin will start growing on a new vine from bees. He then protects the pollinated flower from bees and other elements by covering it with a net and putting a foam cooler and frozen water bottles with it to keep it cool. Ortman also uses fans and a misting system in the hotter months.

June 20

Using a sprayer, Ortman adds growth hormones and fungicides to his pumpkin plants. Ortman sprayed the whole vine with the mixture for the first time this year instead of just the pumpkin. "That's the absolute best way to apply foliar products to the plants," he said. He added that if someone uses this method, they should try to spray the underside of the leaves just as much as the top, as most stomata, or open pores, that allow nutrients in are on the underside. He also uses a small spray bottle to add extra growth hormone to the pumpkin itself once it begins to grow.

June 22

Ortman buries the new roots on his pumpkin vines throughout the season. Where a root forms on the bottom of the vine, a secondary root will form on the top if you cover it. "The theory is, the more roots you have, the more the plant can take in," he said. Ortman uses a mixture of potting soil, worm castings and beneficial fungus to bury the new root growth. He also covers the new pumpkins with a PVC and tarp structure to add extra protection from the heat.

June 30

Rusty Ortman lost two of his pumpkin plants in June. One plant had a mutation and wouldn't grow a pumpkin, and another kept losing the pumpkins that would start. In the end, Ortman pulled both plants out of the ground and focused on his last two. "Losing the two plants really didn't bother me, as I have never been able to keep all of the plants I started until the end of the season," he said.

August 17

Both of Rusty Ortman's remaining vines had grown giant pumpkins with an estimated weight of 1,000 pounds. During this time, Ortman continued adding fungicides and growth hormones, checking on his plants multiple times a week.

September 30

By the end of September, both of Rusty Ortman's remaining pumpkins had problems. Both pumpkins had rotted in the stems and ruined what had grown.

"When I lost the pumpkins that hurt a lot worse (than losing the previous plants)," Ortman said. "However, that wasn't the first time or the last time I've lost everything. I try to keep a level mind with everything I do, but it still sucks to think about all the time I spent working on things to get nothing out of it."

October 19

Ortman makes it back to the Pumpkin Show weigh-in, but only to help out as part of the Giant Pumpkin Growers club. He watches as Cecil Weston's pumpkin, weighing in at 1,553 1/2 pounds, wins. Weston credits shade for his pumpkins as a factor in winning.

"Cecil has been my mentor through all the years I have grown," Ortman said. "He is the type of person that would give you the shirt off of his back. If anyone was going to dethrone me, I'm glad it was him."

While Ortman was hurt he wasn't able to show a pumpkin this year, he says it just makes him want to work harder next season. "It just makes me more hungry to grow something monstrous next year."

The trek to the 2017 Pumpkin Show has begun.