The Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) service hosted its sixth annual pumpkin weigh-in at the Comox Valley compost education centre last Sunday.
Each year the competition creates a great deal of interest from local growers and spectators who are all very keen to see how big the pumpkins grew this time.
Tipping the scale for first place in the adult category was Jon Watkins of Royston, with a pumpkin weighing in at 233.7 pounds. Close behind and coming in second place, was Jim Grinder’s pumpkin at 215.3 pounds and then Kathy Beacham’s pumpkin weighing in at 212.7 pounds.
In the children’s category, Alexandra Grant took first place with her pumpkin — almost double her size — at 144.2 pounds. Second and third place went to Nick and Christopher Beacham with their pumpkins, weighing 97.1 and 78.5 pounds, respectively.
Patty Rose, CSWM’s contract educator, proudly showcased the compost education centre’s 72.9-pound pumpkin, which was grown using SkyRocket, a nutrient-rich soil amendment for lawns and gardens.
The final compost education events of this year will be the annual Pumpkin Smash on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Campbell River in the parking lot of Strathcona Gardens recreation complex and on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Comox Valley compost education centre. Both events will be hosted from noon until 5 p.m. This is an opportunity to smash your jack-o-lanterns and have them turned into compost rather than taking up valuable space in the landfill. For more information on these events, visit www.cswm.ca.
The Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) service is a function of the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) and is responsible for two regional waste management centres that serve
the Comox Valley and Campbell River, as well as a range of transfer stations and smaller waste-handling and recycling facilities for the electoral areas of the CVRD and the Strathcona Regional
District.
The CSWM service manages over 100,000 tonnes of waste and recycled material and oversees a number of diversion and education programs.
— Comox Strathcona Waste Management