Huge 445kg pumpkin named Grietjie crowned festival champion

Cornelis Bester was named this year’s Goliat van Gat Pumpkin Festival winner with his massive 445kg pumpkin he named Grietjie after his mother.

The Goliat van Gat Pumpkin Festival, hosted by the Cullinan Farmers’ Union-affiliated TLU (Transvaal Agricultural Union) SA last weekend, was launched in 2004 as a project to raise awareness about the challenges farmers face.

Lee-Ann van Zyl came in second place with her 360kg pumpkin, while Jacky Smal took third place with her 185kg pumpkin.

Massive 445kg pumpkin wins

Bester, from Heidelberg, said last season some of the challenges they faced included germination in September.

“I inherited an orphan plant from Wykus Lamprecht, so we were already a month behind, then followed the heatwaves that lasted for weeks and our town was without water for another three weeks in December,” he said.

He had to beg for water from people with boreholes.

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“On a hot day, I would pour up to 700l on a patch of 60m² and sometimes had to decide whether to do laundry or water the pumpkin. Then this year the rain brought new challenges with mildew and whitefly and last month we got a cloudburst with 77mm in about 40 minutes that ran right through my patch,” he said.

Bester said because his mother, Magriet always joked that nothing was ever named after her, he named the pumpkin Grietjie.

“The hobby teaches you to be humble and grateful because it’s you against nature,” he said.

Named pumpkin after mother

Festival organiser Henri Combrink said: “The pumpkin dish competition was also a success, with Ritha Combrink emerging as the winner with her delightful pumpkin soup dish.

“The first five winners of the competition each won a cooking class prize at Steyns Culinary School in Hatfield in Pretoria,” he said.

Combrink said the competition brought some heavy moments as participants gave their best efforts while the seed-spitting competition had seeds flying everywhere.

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“The idea was that we would involve everyone, farmers, smallholders and villagers, to grow pumpkins to show what the challenges are.

“It should also be a project that gives back to the community and that is why we donate all the pumpkins to charities and welfare organisations that process and distribute them where they are needed,” Combrink said.

The festival is registered as an official weigh-in point in South Africa with the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth where all the statistics are kept worldwide.

Compete against growers all over the world

At the end of the day, we compete against growers all over the world,” he said.

TLU SA chair Bennie van Zyl said: “It is wonderful for us to be able to highlight and bring attention to the production process of food in such a way, and for consumers to also see and take note of the positive challenges our farmers face.”