It’s a fact—the Exchange remains a vibrant source of unique, awe-worthy seeds because of our passionate listers and their distinctive interests. One such lister is Bloomington, Indiana, resident Steve Strickler, a grower of state record-breaking produce. Having spent his whole life gardening, he viewed joining Seed Savers Exchange in 1987 as an opportunity to feed his passion for finding and saving diverse seeds and connecting with a community of other seed savers.

By 1996, Steve was sharing his own seeds on the Exchange, most often tomatoes acquired from other listers and some commercial sources. Steve has also introduced his own tomato varieties, including ‘Bogeywine’ (a ‘Yellow Brandywine’ cross) and ‘Bronze Orb’ (an accidental cross between ‘Green Zebra’ and an unknown black tomato).

About six years ago, Steve took a dive into the world of competitive tomato and pumpkin growing and didn’t take long to achieve success. (Yes, he already has a couple champion veggies to his name!) Read on to learn more about his wow-worthy produce, highlighted in the photos below.

Steve starts his giant pumpkins at the end of April or beginning of May, managing the temperature with an electric heater for the first couple weeks. Pumpkins, he notes, can grow up to 40 pounds a day at their peak! This pumpkin, affectionately named ‘Putty,’ would have been his largest this year—Steve estimates it reached 1,425 pounds but was disqualified from competition because of rot, probably due to water accumulation or a hungry vole.

How does one move a 1,000-plus pound pumpkin successfully? Well, it involves a lot of teamwork, as well as a homemade lifting tripod composed of three 16-foot timbers connected to a chain hoist. Underneath the pumpkin is a steel lifting ring.

Pumpkin competitions looked different this year, with many state fairs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of gathering at a state fair, these pumpkin growers assembled outside at one grower’s farm. Steve’s 1,197-pound pumpkin took second place this year, tipping the scales at just 14 pounds shy of the winning pumpkin.

Steve grows record-breaking giant tomatoes too. This huge tomato earned him first place at the 2019 Indiana State Fair. Steve’s tricks for growing larger tomatoes include grafting his tomato plants and identifying “mega-blooms.”

And finally, Steve shares that the most important rule of gardening is “to always have fun.” Here he and his wife, Kathy, enjoy their garden “cocktail table.” Visit Steve’s profile to request his tomato and squash seeds through the Exchange.

The Exchange, is a gardener-to-gardener seed swap that Seed Savers Exchange has facilitated since 1975. Since then, participants worldwide have shared tens of thousands of varieties, many of which cannot be found anywhere else. Become part of our participatory preservation network by joining the Exchange today!