When Jim Martin was a child he marveled at the huge pumpkins shown on tv each Fall. He wondered how folks grew them so big. He never knew he’d be growing them himself one day.

Martin took a slightly different career path than farming. He left his native Hayward in California for the glamor and glitz of rock in roll. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was a guitarist for the band “Faith No More”. After spending years on the road, he felt like settling down. Being a rock star had taken it’s toll.

Martin returned to his roots. He bought a home in Castro Valley, California, which isn’t too far from Hayward where he grew up. He’s married and raising a kid.

Then he realized his childhood dream. He began farming on his land. He started growing pumpkins–huge pumpkins! He enters them in contests and recently won first prize at a Santa Rosa event for a whopper weighing 1,087 pounds.

Martin has big plans for his pumpkins. Next week is the Half Moon Bay Ar and Pumpkin Festival. It’s touted as the biggest pumpkin festival in the world.

[Photograph credit: Brad Harrison, www.sxc.hu]