Nurseryman Off To Carve Up The Big Apple

Nurseryman Off To Carve Up The Big Apple

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Nurseryman Scott Cully may help the company peddle blueberry plants at his day job, but this Halloween he has a bigger job cut out for himself. Cully has been invited by officials at the New York Botanical Garden to come to their annual “Halloween Hoorah” celebration to carve a massive pumpkin weighing 1,810.5 pounds. This two-day carving job will take place Oct. 30 and 31 at the gardens.

This carving project is slated to garner Cully his fourth Guiness Book of World Records award for carving the world’s largest pumpkin. In the last 11 years, 10 world record-breaking pumpkins were grown; eight of those were carved. Of those eight, Cully carved five.

Cully says he never designs in advance but rather lets the shape and character of the pumpkin guide his artistry on site. He says his biggest challenge in carving such large pumpkins is the engineering. “You have to carve carefully so the remaining pumpkin structure can hold up the weight of the pumpkin. One wrong cut and the whole pumpkin can cave in,” he explains.

Cully got his start in massive pumpkin carving when he and his wife Imy owned a small farm in west Connecticut in the 1980’s. Their farming business specialized in growing 200- to 300-pound pumpkins that were sold to chain stores. In 1988, Cully carved a 400-pound pumpkin for a friend’s party and the rest is history.

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Cully is the general manager of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc. in Lowell, OR, the world’s largest grower and supplier of blueberry nursery stock. Founded in 1978, Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc. remains an industry pioneer in new variety development and blueberry research and maintains a key role in the blueberry industry globally. To learn more, visit: www.fallcreeknursery.com.

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