Tiverton’s Cody Braz Takes First Place With Giant Pumpkins, Doubling the Competition’s Best

Tiverton's own Cody Braz has earned bragging rights – and $1,800 in prize money – for his first-place finish in a local giant pumpkin competition, where his Atlantic Giant pumpkins far outweighed the field.

Competing against 36 other hopefuls, Braz’s impressive entries came in at 222, 238, and a whopping 258 pounds, with his heaviest pumpkin more than doubling the next largest entry at 128 pounds.

While most pumpkin growers start in early spring, Braz joined the competition on short notice in late May, paying a $50 entry fee and planting his pumpkins on July 6 after two unsuccessful attempts to sprout seeds.

“Normally, you start in April and plant in May,” Braz explained, “but I only had a month and a half of good growing weather to get it done.”

Despite the late start, his dedication paid off as he meticulously tended his pumpkins with daily watering, pruning and fertilizing, shielding them from sunburn during the day and covering them with blankets at night to protect against the chill.

Braz’s record-breaking pumpkins belong to the Atlantic Giant variety, known for producing some of the world’s largest pumpkins. The seeds he used have impressive lineage, coming from pumpkins weighing 1,965 and 1,972 pounds.

With more time and preparation, Braz is confident he could grow a pumpkin well over 1,000 pounds.

“This was my first season ever growing them,” he said. “Next year will be better. I’m planning to compete in the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Competition.”

As for what comes next, Braz has practical plans for his prize pumpkins.

“I’m going to keep them as decoration for the week and then cut them open and harvest the seeds for next year," he said. "There’s roughly 70 seeds per pumpkin.”

What started as a summer hobby for Braz quickly grew into a passion. After his phenomenal first season, he’s already looking ahead to even larger pumpkins and stiffer competition.

Tiverton may soon have a giant pumpkin champion on the regional stage if Braz has anything to say about it.