Jun 15, 2026 - News
A surprising twist for the giant Iowa State Fair pumpkins
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It's always good to have a plan B. Photos: Linh Ta/Axios
Linh here. I'm growing two giant pumpkins with the goal of showing one of them at the Iowa State Fair. (Their names are Hope #1 and Hope #2, just in case.)
Driving the news: In a surprise turn of events, Hope #2, my backup pumpkin, is doing better than Hope #1.
How it happened: A few weeks ago, Hope #1 was blooming beautiful flowers. Wow! Pretty!
- Then I learned the bright yellow flowers were not supposed to be happening yet, and it was putting its energy into the wrong place.
Meanwhile, Hope #2 was quietly growing without much messing around by me. And now, it's over 5 feet long.
Zoom in: In other news, this week, I got a check signed by Mayor Connie Boesen herself, for $52.
- The city offers a 50% subsidy for rain barrels, and I bought one a couple of weeks ago after it became clear this spring was going to be full of rain.
- Anyway, it fills up really fast, and now I have a strange hodgepodge of garbage cans and totes full of rainwater in my backyard.
Countdown: 59 days until judgment day.
