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Rhode Island

just how great an accomplishment was the 2008 1,689 jutras?

think about this for a moment.

starting with the stelts wr 1,140 in 2000 and ending with the wallace 1,502 in 2007 the average wr fruit gain over this period was 60 pounds per year.

dave stelts 2,000 wr 1,140 pounds
geneva emmonds up 122 lbs in 2001
charlie houghton up 75 lbs in 2002
steve daletas up 48 lbs in 2003
al eaton up 61 lbs in 2004
larry checkon up 23 lbs in 2005
ron wallace up 33 lbs in 2006

then in 2007 joe jutras blew the lid off the wr average yearly gains by adding 187 pounds for a new world record weight of 1.689 pounds.

in 2008 and with no disrespect intended jake van kooten won the world champion title with a gain of 34 pounds off the 2006 wr weight of 1,502 pounds. which falls well with in the yearly wr weight gains we had experienced from 2005 on up.

what this means to me is that for whatever reason joe jutras caught lightning in a bottle (so to speak) and accomplished a weight that may hold for yet another season or two.
if you believe in the numbers then at an average gain of 60 pounds per year it could take another 2 to 3 years before the 1,689 will fall

2/16/2009 10:03:03 AM

Saegertown Pa.

What a amazing year it was and a great accomplishment by a first class Pearson that had the inches to do it again in 08 but just fell short and with the right kind of weather like we had in 07 probably would have done it again. And lets not forget the other two 1600 LB pumpkins 1662 Young and 1631.5 McKie, and Dave Stelts growing two pumpkins over 1500 LB in the same year. 07 will go down as the year of great weather and great accomplishments by some of the best growers in the world.

2/16/2009 10:57:20 AM

Ham Lake, Minnesota

Great topic and I agree it will likely stand for a few if not many years at the top. I also believe with folks pushing hard to get there more fruit in that range will go DMG sadly enough. I think it has been brought up before that summer is only so long and you can only get so many pounds maximum out of a pumpkins peak curve in a given time. The pumpkin to beat 1689 will likely just have to be super heavy to the chart.

2/16/2009 12:01:56 PM

Indiana

I agree with Quinn. How many pumpkins were there in 2007 that were bigger than the 1536?

2007 was a year for the record books and Joe ended up on top. Regardless of the weight, I think anyone that ends up tops in the world in any given year has accomplished quite a feat.

2/16/2009 12:56:13 PM

Southeast Texas

just what if larry checkon's 1469 would of went even to the chart(1788.8)the 1689 would still be 99#'s off the wr,or if it would of been 10 or 15% heavey it would be pushing 2000# or over.i think one like larrys will happen again soon and the next time it may not go light. just a thought

2/16/2009 4:40:51 PM

Western NY

I agree with Quinn. Here's another way to look at it:

Take the top pumpkin from the last 10 years, and compare them to the average of the next 2 closest contenders. For this exercise, I counted the couple times where a split one would qualify. You could also probably compare the top pumpkin to just the #2, or the average of #2-#5 and get a clearer picture of either how stiff the competition was, or how outstanding a particular pumpkin was, however you want to spin it.

2008: 35.75 (1568 - ((1536.5+1528)/2))
2007: 42.5
2006: 53.75
2005: 43.85
2004: 19.75
2003: 79
2002: 96.5
2001: 16.8
2000: 37.1
1999: 106.2

2/16/2009 5:17:01 PM

Waquoit Mass

the weather that year gave all the growers in the northeast and elsewhere a great shot at new heights hamr

2/16/2009 6:27:22 PM

Ohio

I also think that 1689 Jutras seed hasnt seen it highest weights yet ether,thats another great seed I think will reach the 1500 lb plus mark with no problem at all.

2/16/2009 6:42:31 PM

That State Up North

The 1689 definitely ranks with the most remarkable achievements 612 Gallagher, 755 Thompson, 821 Stellpflug (how many years did that squash wr last?), 990 Bax, 1262 Emmons and 1689 Jutras had the greatest single year weight increase. The 612 wins the % increase award and that may never be beaten.

2007 was undoubtedly the best year far and above

but was the 1689 the most impressive jump yet?
or was it the 612 or 821?
how long will 1689 stand?

I smell lots of wild predictions and maybe a seed giveaway contest

2/16/2009 7:04:59 PM

Colorado

1689=great growing job,great seed,great weather,ideal shaped fruit that didnt have structural flaws.Its unreal that its possible to grow a fruit that size.the next few seasons will shed more light on how high the bar is.

2/16/2009 7:16:36 PM

Ohio

As far as the weather goes for last year for some growers, it didnt seem to play a big part in them growing some huge pumpkins, but I think if we have the weather like we had in 2007 there is a great chance the 1689 will fall, maybe not by 187 lbs, but I think it will be beaten

2/16/2009 7:27:49 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

I think the genes are out there, just need the lucky combo again to drive the bar higher. The 1689 is a heckuva pumpkin, but there's more waiting to be grown!

2/16/2009 7:36:29 PM

Greencastle, PA

The 1689 Jutras is the most impressive achievment in pumpkin growing. It sat off the vine for a few days before Topsfield too. I agree with pap, it has a good chance of holding the record for a few more seasons. Now it makes me smile every time I see a photo of Joe's 2001 Topsfield entries and remember how he told me, "Don't ever sell yourself short." In six years, he went from #69 out of 81 entries to being the best in the world. Mr. Jutras is the model of a "heavy hitter" and within only a few minutes of conversation with him, you'll get an idea of why his friends call him Gentleman Joe.

2/16/2009 9:13:12 PM

Rhode Island

if you want to take the history of the 1689 a step further?
think about this. theres a good reason why the 1385 jutras may very well end up to pass the 1068 as the number one seed of all time.

think about it for a minute. joes 1385 was grown from a 1068 which did well in itself that year. he crossed the wr pollon from his 998 that year into the 1068 to produce the 1385

ya got two world record seed stocks plus their individual genetic makeup on both sides of the 1385

2/16/2009 10:37:17 PM

Pemberton, BC

I agree with Brooks on the weather, still some big fruit for such a poor season. Anyone living on the west coast knows how bad our '08 summer was, yet Jake whos probablly growing further west than anybody but JD in Alaska still grows one to 1536#'s. Makes one wonder what that 1142 could have grown had the sun come out??

2/16/2009 11:04:15 PM