Meet Your Maker: Farmer John Muller and his 1,200-pound pumpkins

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Half Moon Bay is home to Giant Atlantic pumpkin enthusiasts, who grow squashes that can weigh in at more than 1,000 pounds (a world record was recently set by an Ohio farmer with a 1,725-pounder). One of the town’s famed growers also is its mayor, Farmer John Muller. He lives for two things, he says, ‘politics and pumpkins.’

At last week’s weigh-off, one of his hybrid pumpkins weighed in at 1,200 pounds, setting a record for the county.

Muller also imports rare Italian pumpkin seeds that date back to the 1700s and uses them to grow over 50 colorful, oddly-shaped varieties of squash on his farm just off Highway 1. You can see some of these big boys at the Half Moon Bay Arts & Pumpkin Festival this weekend.

Check out video, photos and the full article at Brand X.

--Krista Simmons

Photo: Farmer John Muller and one of his Giant Atlantic pumpkins, which he’s named Miss Pretty Ida. Credit: Aaron Avila