CULLMAN, Ala. – Exhibit Hall 2 is one of the first stops upon entering the Cullman County Fair. Known as the Agriculture Hall, the vegetable hall or veggie exhibit, the hall hosts the home-grown vegetable and produce entries.
Last year was the inaugural year for the Monster Vegetable category at the fair, spearheaded by the Cullman County Master Gardeners and Master Gardener Brad Mitchell in an effort to involve the next generation in agriculture, self-sustainability and gardening. Mitchell himself enters the monster competition in multiple categories, including a new one this year: “Longest Gourd.”
The calabash, or bottle gourd, is a rapidly growing gourd variety that has been known to grow to more than 10 feet in length. Mitchell’s monstrous blue ribbon gourd measured in at 97 inches long, a staggering 8 feet, 1 inch from end to stem.
A blue ribbon also went to the “Ugliest Gourd.” One of Mitchell’s bottle gourds landed in that category for its curved and gnarled snake-like appearance.
Looking at his collection of home-grown and gardened giant gourds, Mitchell recounted finding the ugly squash relative among the other perfectly formed produce.
“When I was harvesting these, I looked at the top of my trellis and I saw this snake looking thing,” he laughed. “But, when I got closer, it was just one of these.”
The stars of the show for the second year running were the Master Gardener- and Cullman County Fair-certified Monster Vegetables, grown in Cullman County to astronomical and unbelievable sizes. In 2023, the first-place winner for the “Largest Pumpkin” weighed in at over 200 pounds at 210; in 2024, the prize-winning pumpkin tipped the scales at 345 pounds. Grown by Bailee Wesson, this year’s champ dwarfs its predecessor by over 100 pounds.
On the same podium, sharing the spotlight with the great pumpkins were the enormous watermelons. First place was a whopping 215-pound melon and second a robust 207 pounds. Mitchell and Sawyer Alexander are the growers behind the massive melons, respectively.
Other categories in the produce exhibit included other homegrown veggies and crops, locally harvested honey and home-canned goods.
Mitchell shared that the Master Gardeners are always searching for ideas and new entry categories to get more people interested in agriculture and the sustainability of farming, gardening and producing crops for personal use.
His favorite part, however, is seeing the beauty and variety of bounty the Cullman soil brings forth.
He said, “There aren’t many fairs anymore that are local and community based. I love when kids come through and see an eggplant and ask, ‘What is that?’ They don’t know where food comes from, other than Publix,” he laughed, adding, “Here, they have the chance to be encouraged in things like planting and growing vegetables.”
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