Napa is home to a surprising number of men and women who take growing giant pumpkins very seriously. Several locals recently placed in two of California’s annual giant pumpkin contests — the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin & Harvest Festival Weigh-Off on Oct. 6 and 7 and the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Oct. 8.

Pete Glasier of Napa took first prize at Elk Grove this year, earning $7,500 for his eye-popping, 1,535.5 pound pumpkin. The giant gourd set a new California record — replacing that of Napan Gary Miller, who set the record last year with his mammoth 1,280.5 pound pumpkin. Miller entered the Elk Grove contest again this year, snagging fifth place with a 1,007.5 pound entry.

Glasier, who said he grew his record-setting pumpkin on Miller’s property, started growing giants about 25 years ago and does not use any synthetic fertilizers. Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds are a must for people who want to grow giants, Glasier said.

“The growers throughout the world trade seeds with each other every year, so the chances of growing a big pumpkin each year are pretty good,” he said.

Local grower Jose Ceja credits Glasier for teaching many of Napa’s pumpkin enthusiasts how to grow an outsized pumpkin. “We got lucky that one of the guys teaching us is one of the best in the whole world. (Napa growers) don’t keep secrets,” he said.

Ceja, who took third place and won $1,000 at the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin & Harvest Festival this year with his 1,147 pound pumpkin, said he uses organic fertilizers including seaweed and fish emulsion.

Like Ceja, longtime grower Miller takes pride in his pumpkins and uses only organic composting and fertilizing materials.

Miller, who said he’s grown giant pumpkins for a decade, uses an all-organic regimen for his creations. “When I first started growing these … people said, ‘You have to use Miracle-Gro.’ But in the last two or three years, I’ve been 100 percent organic. The reason for that is I’m trying to build my soil rather than deplete it. It’s a big leap to change your attitude or your beliefs that you grew up with,” he said.

Another local, Leonardo Urena of Napa, won fourth place at the Half Moon Bay contest. His gourd tipped the scales at a substantial 1,292 pounds. Urena said Oregon and Washington competitors at the contest were tough to beat, adding that most of them have more experience growing pumpkins. Northwesterners, he said, are also blessed with better pumpkin-growing weather — the days are a little longer in summer and the nights stay warm. Still, Urena is no stranger to pumpkin growing. “I’ve been growing them for eight years. ... My family is involved in all of this. Without their support, I could not do it. It’s a lot of work.”

Napan Jim Cole traveled to Half Moon Bay to enter his 62 -pound pumpkin on Oct. 8. Although he didn’t place this year, he said he has four years’ worth of pumpkin contests under his belt. Cole said novices can rub shoulders with experienced pumpkin growers each February in Elk Grove during a special growers’ conference.

“You can get fertilizer and tools from vendors there and they have a seed exchange,” he said.

Napa residents Loren Vanderschoot and his wife, Pam, who attended the contest in Elk Grove this year, also took their 1,094 pound pumpkin to Half Moon Bay. The move paid off, earning the couple “eighth place, $500 and bragging rights.”

The Vanderschoots, seasoned pumpkin growers with about 11 years of experience, said they stick close to home during growing season to keep a close eye on their pumpkin patch. “It takes about three hours a day to take care of them. All vines have to be buried every day. The pumpkins can gain 30 pounds in a day at their peak,” Pam said.

The Vanderschoots’ pumpkins — housed in a 3,800 square foot growing area — get the best care, including plenty of water and composted soil enriched with seaweed and fish emulsion.

“Regardless of your level of experience with growing giant pumpkins,” Pam Vanderschoot said, “Napa is a good place to do it.”

“The growers in Napa really help each other. … But it takes lots of work and elbow grease,” she said.