Man wins contest with 1,528-pound pumpkin

Farmer's secret for big pumpkins is good soil: "We really pamper them."

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Man wins contest with 1,528-pound pumpkin
Oct. 15: A giant pumpkin weighs in at more than 1,500 pounds. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

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updated 11:02 a.m. ET Oct. 15, 2008

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - Thad Starr's giant pumpkin really began putting on weight in August — a lot of weight.

The pumpkin gained about 30 pounds a day on its way to victory Monday at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off in Half Moon Bay. Starr's pumpkin finished at a record 1,528 pounds.

Starr won last year with a pumpkin that that was four pounds lighter and also set a record.

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Starr, of Pleasant Hill, Ore., bought a trailer to transport the pumpkin. It has a circumference of 15 feet.

He says his secret to growing big pumpkins is good soil: "We really pamper them."