Photo Provided This year’s King Pumpkin growers, Derrick, left, and Lee Zappa of Mercer, Pennsylvania, stand alongside their winning entry after being crowned

BARNESVILLE — Apparently the seeds of victory come from eastern Pennsylvania — at least those seeds are what this year’s King Pumpkin growers believe put them over the top at a weight of 2,196 pounds.

Lee and Derrik Zappa of Mercer, Pennsylvania, took the top honors at the King Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Wednesday after claiming third place in the competition last year. Lee said there was no real secret to their success. Instead, he believes their award-winning gourd grew to an enormous size all because they started with better seeds acquired from “the other side of Pennsylvania.” Mercer is located in western Pennsylvania, not far from Youngstown, Ohio.

The growers said dry conditions this summer meant that they had to water their crops “almost every day,” providing as much as 175 gallons per plant.

The Zappas keep tabs on official events associated with the Giant Pumpkin Commonwealth, an organization that promotes the growing of giant fruits and vegetables. When one of those events draws near, they decide which of their pumpkins they will enter in the contest. They try to travel to weigh-offs that are within a five-hour drive of their home.

It’s a hobby that the Zappas would like to see more people adopt.

“I hope more young growers get involved,” Lee said.

The king was the only entry at the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival this year to tip the scale at more than 2,000 pounds.

Second place went to Eric Gunstrum of Harris City, Pennsylvania, with a 1,830-pounder, and Adam Momirov of East Granton, Ohio, claimed third place with a mammoth 1,419-pound pumpkin.

Queen pumpkins, finishing in fourth through eighth places, weighed in between 757 and 1,416 pounds. Jeff Theil of Dillonvale, a past king pumpkin winner, raised the 757-pound gourd. Belmont Correctional Institute in St. Clairsville entered a 1,308.5-pound whopper.

Another notable entry in the fruit and vegetable weigh-off was a 5.84-pound tomato grown by Jerry Rose Jr. of Huntsburg, Ohio. He previously won the largest tomato competition in 1993. His son, Jerry Rose III, entered the king pumpkin contest along with Emily Skytta and produced a 1,036-pound queen finalist.

Hundreds of people filled downtown Barnesville to watch the weigh-off live, but many more observed from home. The Belmont County Tourism Council livestreamed the event, and more than 500 people watched and interacted as part of that broadcast.

The tourism council will do the same during the Giant Pumpkin Parade, which steps off from Barnesville High School at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

The festival’s official opening ceremony takes place at 5 p.m. today with a ribbon cutting and presentation of the festival royalty and King Pumpkin trophies.

The festival continues daily through Sunday and is expected to attract around 100,000 people over the course of the weekend.