Carleton Place man aiming to squash competition, take top prize with colossal pumpkins

They're big, they're ugly, and they're not even orange. But if the squash gods are finally on his side, Glenn Cheam's giant pumpkins could mean big money for the Carleton Place man and his family.

Cheam has been growing gargantuangourdsfor years, but while he's got a lot of ribbons to show for his efforts,he's never won gold.

With $3,000 up for grabs at thegiant pumpkin weigh-off at Hugli's BlueberryRanchoutside Pembroke on Saturday, he's hoping to break that streak.

His big contendersthis year are Big Kahuna, afive-foot-wide,five-foot-long andtwo-and-a-half-foot-tall monster,and Big Momma, which isshaped kind of like an enormous La-Z-Boy chair.

"I'm hoping that they're both going to be over 1,200 pounds, at least," Cheam told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Thursday.

"These plants, which are about 800 square feet apiece, they're hours of work every week to maintain and water."