Hi I am an electronics engineer in Canberra Australia. I have been growing giants for about 5 years. My first attempt resulted in complete seed failure but each year I have been getting better results. I mannaged to get a first prize in the Canberra Show ( not a difficult task) a few years ago but last year entered the pumpkin weigh-off at Queanbeyan. I grow the pumpkins in my backyard and this year I only allocated about 10' x 10' of space to it so I am quite pleased with the result My pumpkin is approximately 350 lbs (estimated) but the organisers failed to obtain a venue here so I was not able to compete. The season here is at an end now and the first frosts have been reported, Next time I will make more space available and expect a better result. Stewart Deans