Meet the maker: The pumpkin man, Farmer John Muller

Giant patches of citrus-colored globes line the 15-mile stretch of Highway 1 just south of San Francisco. Hay bales stacked high as pyramids conceal clusters of excited youngsters, and oversized mazes of maize beckon an afternoon romp. Everything is huge here, and the pumpkins are no exception. 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."

Mayor Muller, or as he prefers to be called, Farmer John, has been selling pumpkins since he was 15 years old -- he sold his first with his friend Mike Faulkner for a nickel on the side of the highway. Being a third-generation Half Moon Bay farmer, he's seen how the town's sentiment has changed over the years. There are several commercial-style pumpkin patches in town that grow one or two varieties and emphasize entertainment over agriculture. But Muller and his wife, Ida, are importing seeds from an Italian family that has been in the business since the 1700s, growing more than 50 varieties of pumpkins on their farm.

Walking around Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch, he points out some of his favorites: Baby Bears, Ornamenta Funghi, Yugoslovian Fingers, Shamrock Pumpkins, Princess of Iran and El Nino, to name a few. Though it may sound like a shortlist of grunge rock bands, these varietals are almost as extinct as punk itself. But Farmer John Muller is a bit of a rogue, fighting to preserve squash varietals that can scarcely be found elsewhere.

But the real prize pumpkins are kept outside the public pumpkin patch, at Muller's farm just off Main Street. The Giant Atlantic pumpkins or, as he calls them, "the big boys," are hidden underneath hoop houses (similar to a greenhouse), where their leaves are protected from being scorched by the sun. They're wrapped in blankets to keep them warm throughout the day. Fans blow air onto their handles, which are painted with sulfur to keep them dry from rot. Secondary vines are cut off to funnel all the nutrients to the competition pumpkins. He treats them well: No pesticides are used, and he talks to them daily.

Farmer John has two competition pumpkins this year: Miss Pretty Ida and the Big Lebowski. During their peak of growth, at about 60 days, some pumpkins can gain 40 pounds in 24 hours, but they also tend to lose their color and their shape during the rapid growth period.

But Farmer John's friend and confidant, Vince Zunnino, is working on creating "pretty pumpkins," a hybrid of smaller pumpkins, and the Giant Atlantic gangbuster growers. Using a paintbrush, he pollinates the female flower, which has a little bulb beneath it, with the desired males. Muller calls Zunnino "the Genentech of pumpkins." It seems the experiment is going well, as his Miss Pretty Ida hybird weighed in at 1,200 pounds last week, winning in the county and local categories.

"I'm looking for nice color and shape, and then crossing it into heavy genetics," he says. "You're pretending you're little bee legs. You walk over the flowers' stamen. You pick up some of the pollen from the male and walk on the female."

Muller has another trick up his sleeve too: his giant square pumpkins. Using custom wooden boxes and super clamps, he constrains the growth of the Giant Atlantics to a small box, creating a perfect square. He holds the record for the largest square pumpkin, at 235 pounds.

He's a local hero and sells pumpkins all over the area, at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay and local restaurants and bakeries, which typically sell out of pumpkin pie by 11 a.m. He's sold square pumpkins to a Reno casino to be turned into dice. But most of all his responsibility is to kids and customers. He has a true dedication to preserving the unique and promoting quality of character.

"Pumpkins are like people," Muller says. "They come in all colors, sizes and shapes. But on the inside they're all the same."

-- Krista Simmons

Find photos after the jump.