Pumpkin Whisperer
|  Video
|
| 10/12/2009 |
 |
| Every fall, serious pumpkin growers converge small Ohio town of Circelville with hopes of glory. They bring their prized specimens, monster pumpkins measured in hundreds of pounds. One of these master gardeners provided a glimpse into his secret world. He said to have a green, make that an orange thumb. His name is Robert Liggett. An optometrist, he goes by "Doctor Bob". Right around this time every year, Doctor Bob can be seen driving the path across his property to his pumpkin garden aboard his trusty 4-wheeler. "Two times in the morning and two to three times in the afternoon", says Dr. Liggett. Doctor Bob is serious about his pumpkins. Surveying the garden, huge orange and tan pumpkins rise from the sea of green foliage. "This is Queen Bess", Dr. Liggett said. His wife Jo named this one. "She comes out and decides what the name is. I don`t have anything to do with that", Dr. Liggett said. Doctor Bob`s job is growing these monsters. "I think it`s actually a lot of patience with what you do to the soil and the seed and to all the things that you put in to it", Dr. Liggett said. He designed a network of hoses and electrical lines, gauges and grow lamps. A makeshift sun shade fashion from tarps draped over a loose frame of plastic pipe dangles above. Every factor is controlled as best he can. All of this hard work and tender loving care has paid off. He`s been a winner before, in 1995 and 1997. Doctor Bob will be the first to tell you there`s more to this than winning at the pumpkin show. "It`s about the fun of doing this", Dr. Liggett said. But inside, he`s a competitor. "I want it. I want it bad". For the next couple of days and nights, Doctor Bob continue making the trip to his patch. Soon it will time to cut "Queen Bess" and the rest of these monster pumpkins from the vine. They`ll be loaded up and hauled to the big Circleville pumpkin show to see how they stack up. "I think we`ve worked hard and we`ve done a good job", Dr. Liggett said. Until then, the optometrist will keep an eye on the prize. |
BACK TO NEWS | BACK TO NBC VIDEOS STORIES
© 2009 KFYR-TV
Home | News | Weather | Sports | Webcast | Morning News | Programming | Primetime Rewind | Advertising & Sales | About Us
Community Connection | Movies | Contests & Promotions | Search | Links | Contact Us | Follow us on: Facebook and twitter
Sister Stations: KMOT in Minot, KQCD in Dickinson, KUMV in Williston
