![\"pumpkin-stein2\"](\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/pumpkin-stein2.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo by Tony Dighera<\/p><\/div>\n
Tony’s monstrous pumpkins are organic, but that’s not the reason they’ll fetch up to $125 apiece. That’s because these pumpkins aren’t carved, they’re grown<\/em> into little likenesses of their muse, Mr. Frankenstein himself. Tony came up with the idea to create plastic molds that fit around the pumpkin plant when the fruit’s still small.<\/p>\n Photo by Tony Dighera<\/p><\/div>\n But his vision wasn’t … small, that is. He grew over 5,500 pumpkins in his first season on his 40-acre organic farm near L.A. For over 30 years, Tony worked as a tractor operator for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. But his real love was farming, and in 2003, he bought his small farm and struggled to make ends meet as an organic farmer. Then, inspired by a\u00a0photo of a square watermelon grown in Japan, Tony got the idea to grow his vegetables in shapes, starting with square and heart-shaped watermelons, then\u00a0imprinting logos onto melons for Whole Foods, then trying his hand at creating a monster. And that’s translating into a monster\u00a0business … Tony sold his entire crop to suppliers for $75 apiece.\u00a0Let’s see, roughly 5,000 x $75. Monster math, I mean, monster mash.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a laboratory deep in the heart of Fillmore, California, a mad scientist named Tony Dighera gave a face to a monster pumpkin … literally. Tony’s monstrous pumpkins are organic, but that’s not the reason they’ll fetch up to $125 … Continue reading