Dean Busquaert of Napa shows the tall corn he grew that took first place at the Elk Grove harvest festival. The stalk measured 258 inches, 9.5 feet.

The duct tape and string are used to support the stalk when taking it out of the ground and transporting,” wrote Busquaert, who also won first place for his 23.5-pound zucchini and came in eighth in the large pumpkin contest for his 1,192.5 pound pumpkin. “Since it was longer than my truck, the stalk started at the back of the bed and was tied and duct taped to the side and all the way around the front of the truck. The truck with the pumpkin and all the veggies looked like a mad scientist experiment.”