Where to Find Grower Advice and Educational Resources for Giant Pumpkin Growing on GPC

The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) website at gpc1.org collects grower education in one place: a beginner guide ("Andy Wolf's - Pumpkins 101"), a grower-education directory of creators and channels, a tomato inspection video by Jack LaRue, a judge training module, and a weight calculator for 2025 AG pumpkin and squash. These are the entry points to use if you want growing tips, proven techniques, or a way to check how your fruit would be scored.

Start with the beginner and technique resources

If you are new to giant growing, the site's "Grower's Advice and Pumpkin Sites You Can Trust" section is the intended starting point. It links to:

• Andy Wolf's - Pumpkins 101 — a foundational guide for growers getting into giant pumpkins.
• Tomato Inspection Video by Jack LaRue — a walkthrough of tomato inspection, useful if you plan to enter tomatoes rather than pumpkins.
• Grower Education: Creators & Channels — a directory of growers and creators who share knowledge and experience through social channels and online communities.

The creators-and-channels list is described as a place to find growing tips, proven techniques, behind-the-scenes insights, and opportunities to ask questions and exchange ideas with fellow growers. Treat it as a directory to browse rather than a single course: pick the channels whose growing conditions and fruit types match yours.

Use the tools that support a growing season

Two tools on the site are directly tied to the weigh-off side of growing:

The calculator is credited to Scott Holub and is offered in both imperial and metric versions, each with a chart you can download. The Leader Board is described as the best source for checking GPC stats.

Learn the rules and judging side

Growing advice only gets you to the scale. The site also publishes the material that determines whether your fruit counts:

• GPC Rules and Handbook — the official rules. Tomato weigh-off entries harvested before the annual weigh-off season are covered on page 32.
• Judge Training Module — a module with a video introduction by Cindy, created so that fruit brought to any GPC weigh-off is "judged fairly and consistently." The site notes that records and significant prize money can be at stake at events, which is why officials are trained.
• German translation of the official rules — the GPC announced a German translation to expand global accessibility, with a rules announcement to view.

If you are entering rather than judging, the rules and handbook are the document to read before your first weigh-off.

Keep up with the community

The GPC publishes a quarterly newsletter, Common Ground, available on the website immediately upon publication, with both a current issue and an archive. A Summer 2026 issue is listed as available. The site also references results from a GPC member survey, which it says influenced recent decisions.

A practical way to use these resources

1. Read Pumpkins 101 and watch the tomato inspection video to understand what a finished entry looks like.
2. Browse the Creators & Channels directory and follow two or three growers whose climate and fruit type match yours.
3. Use the weight calculator through the season to estimate where your fruit stands.
4. Read the Rules and Handbook before committing to a weigh-off, and check the Leader Board during the season to see how entries are scoring.
5. If you want to help at events rather than compete, work through the Judge Training Module.

One caveat: the site presents these as links and resources rather than a structured course, so the order above is a suggested path, not a required sequence. The GPC describes its purpose as promoting participation in growing giant fruits and vegetables, and the education section is built around that community-sharing model.