Sometimes you just go with the best one on the lot -- like this youngster did at a Palm Springs pumpkin patch in 2008. (Taylor Jones / Post file photo)

By BRAD BAUER

Like many children, 9-year-old Marietta, Ohio, resident Tyler Prunty can’t wait until its time for his family to go out to and buy some pumpkins for Halloween.

Just the thought of carving into the pumpkin, pulling out the slimy “guts” and sculpting a ghoulish face was enough to light up the boy’s face brighter than any jack-o-lantern.

“For me, I always pick ‘em by their size,” he said. “The taller and fatter they are the better.”

Prunty would probably like to talk pumpkins with Jim Cline, of Reno, Ohio. When it comes to pumpkins, the 64-year-old is something of a kid at heart, and one of a handful of area residents who tries each year to grow record-setting pumpkins.

“I’ve been at this about five years now, and I’m getting better every year. But this year was a tough one,” Cline said. “The weather really wasn’t very good for pumpkins, but I still got a few good ones weighing more than a couple hundred pounds.”

Cline said his grandchildren, who helped with the planting and watering of the plants, showed the pumpkins at the Washington County Fair this year.

“Two of them got first place and one got second place, so that was pretty good,” he said.

But for Cline and many others, their sights are set on more than a ribbon or a 200-pound pumpkin.

“I’m going to keep at this until I get one in the 1,200- to 1,500-pound range,” he said. “I know I can do it, it’s just a matter of getting my soil right, getting some good weather and doing my homework.”

Cline said he reads magazines, attends pumpkin festivals in other areas, talks with other growers and takes notes to learn from past successes and failures.

He said growing a massive pumpkin takes more than just putting a few seeds in the ground.

“You really have to have good soil, good seeds and then really put the water to them,” he said. “I was watering each plant 80 to 100 gallon of water every night.”

When picking out a pumpkin for the porch, Cline said look for one with a good solid orange color, free from any damage or bug infestation.

“A good pumpkin should last you a month or two after harvest,” he said.