Photo by Jennifer Compston-Strough Bill Neptune of New Concord poses with his winning entry in Barnesville’s Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Wednesday. The new King Pumpkin weighed in at 1,952 pounds, making Neptune the festival champion for the fifth time.

BARNESVILLE — He did it again — Bill Neptune of New Concord captured the title of King Pumpkin for the fifth time on Wednesday with a 1,952-pound entry.

Neptune said he started growing pumpkins competitively about 30 years ago, inspired by his neighbor, Pat St. Clair, who had a pumpkin Neptune estimated at 300 pounds growing in his yard. Being neighborly, St. Clair gave Neptune seeds and got him started.

“I got hooked,” Neptune said. “That first year, I grew a 200-pound pumpkin and that was like, I gotta do this.”

The secret to his success?

There isn’t one.

“You have to control your water, and we had a tough year in Ohio,” Neptune said. “It was so wet.

“I’m still growing outside, so you have to fight the water issue all the time,” he continued. “So getting that water dialed in where the plant is growing well, but the pumpkin’s growing better. So you don’t want it so wet that the plant’s really growing and the pumpkin’s just growing a little bit, so controlling the water is a big issue for us. … It’s just work – and knowing what the plant needs.”

In 2023, Neptune claimed the crown with a 1,950-pound pumpkin. His winning 2019 entry tipped the scale at 1,588 pounds.

In 2010, his 1,479-pounder reigned over the festival, and he first captured the crown in 2009 with a 1,503-pound entry.

Second place this year went to Ben McMillin of Salem, Ohio, who presented a 1,948-pound entry. Jerry Rose Jr. of Huntsburg, Ohio, took third place with a 1,737-pound pumpkin.

The “queen” entries (fourth through 10th places) were submitted by: Adam Momirov, East Canton, Ohio, 1,591 pounds; Erin Gunstrom, Harrison City, Pennsylvania, 1,579; Belmont Correctional Institution, St. Clairsville, 1,165; Bexley and Gatlin Powell, Barnesville, 1,104; Patrick St. Clair, Lore City, 914 pounds; Derek Crabtree, Circleville, Ohio, 890; and Augustine Boyle, New Lexington, Ohio, 768 pounds.

The Barnesville Pumpkin Festival actually gets underway at 5 p.m. today, when Belmont County Tourism Director Jackee Pugh cuts the ribbon to officially open the event. It continues through Sunday evening on the streets of downtown Barnesville.