Experience: I paddled a giant pumpkin down a river for 11 hours

‘I spent thousands of dollars on seeds’: Duane Hansen in his pumpkin patch. Photograph: Kathy Plunkett/The Guardian

I’ve always had a knack for growing big fruit and vegetables, and my tomatoes, squashes and peppers regularly win prizes at the Otoe County Fair near my home in Syracuse, Nebraska.

The one thing I struggled with was pumpkins. For the first few years, mine never quite took off. Gradually, I started to get more impressive results. But it wasn’t until I attended a pumpkin-growing seminar six years ago in Portland, Oregon, that my interest developed into an obsession.