The Frohloff family are the premiers of the 2026 Brisbane Ekka’s Giant Pumpkin competition … again.
Their reputation as Queensland’s most consistent champion giant pumpkin growers was founded by family patriarch, Geoff Frohloff, back in the late 1980s.
And it was Geoff, 72, who won the prize for the Champion Heaviest Pumpkin and the blue ribbon in the Open class during the judging at the Brisbane Showgrounds, on Saturday.
Geoff’s giant weighed in at 342kg.
Also vying for the title was his son Tony, 44, who won second (326kg) and third place (279kg).
Geoff’s grandsons, Riley, 17 and Dylan, 20, also competed.
And it was Riley who won the Youth class with his 249kg entry.
The month of March is early to be judging an Ekka competition, but the timing suits the king of vegetables and their growers.
Tony explains: “Cattle pumpkins may look tough but they are really a bit soft and susceptible to rot.
“We couldn’t change the growing season and it was always a battle to keep them through the winter months for the Ekka in August.
“In 2014, they brought the competition forward.”
Since the change of dates, Geoff has claimed the champion award five times and Tony three..
While Tony began helping his father with the cattle pumpkins when he was 10, he only began entering the competition in his own right in 2017.
“One day, I decided that I’d like to grow my own entries and join in the fun,” he explained.
Geoff has logged entries every year for 36 years, and innumerable wins.
But the most memorable was 2003, when he grew the first one that weighed in at over 300kg.
Giant pumpkins are not his only winning claim.
“Dad used to enter around 25 varieties of table pumpkins in the shows and even nowadays he still enters about 12 to 15 varieties,” Tony said.
Varietal diversity has also played a role in Geoff and Tony’s selection of seed for the giants.
“We’ve tried the Australian Cattle Pumpkin and the Atlantic Giants and we’ve grown seeds we’ve swapped at the biggest competition in Australia,” Tony said.
Success means potting the best seedlings.
“We grow them on a bit more and then make our choice of the ones we’ll plant out,” he said.
“Planting out happens around November and what follows is a two weekly spraying schedule to deter bugs and diseases.”
The Frohloffs are experienced growers, knowledgeable about cultivation techniques and the impact of weather patterns.
But their added ingredient is – luck.
Frohloffs are well known in the national pumpkin competition.
“It used to be held in Lismore but now its run in Kyogle during the Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Festival in January,” Tony said.
“They are big growers down there, real heavy hitters, and the climate is more suited and so the competition is highly competitive.
“Dad has won the competition once with a 326kg entry and I won it this year with one weighing 368.5kg.”
Tony is hoping the family’s Ekka entries will hold for another two weeks in time for the Marburg Show.
“The Ekka entries and the other ones we picked are now resting under a shady tree in the garden and if we’re lucky some won’t go soft before the Show.”
And how does one dispose of a giant cattle pumpkin?
“We run between 50 and 70 head of beef cattle,” Tony said.
“They’ll finish off a 300kg pumpkin in 10 to 15 minutes, no trouble.”
