The extreme gardeners who enter their giant pumpkins in the Cooperstown Pumpkin Fest weigh-off every year have one ambition: to grow a world-record holder and enter the halls of gardening glory. These gurus of the gourd nurture their fruits through harsh weather, floods, animal attacks and even vandalism to produce magnificent pumpkins of monster proportions. Lords of the Gourd: The Pursuit of Excellence air s Wednesday, Sept . 5 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1 and Monday, Sept . 10 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2 .

Some say it's a hobby, others call it a sport, but most agree it's an obsession. Most contenders will leave with nothing but a pile of pumpkin pulp to show for the countless hours of preparation. The successful will score generous prize money and possibly lasting fame as the man or woman who nurtured the world's weightiest pumpkin.

In Lords of the Gourd , viewers encounter offbeat and endearing growers who tend, pamper and coddle their plants as if they are children, coaxing them to grow to unnatural size. Soil must be tested and nourished frequently, water and fertilizer measured and applied precisely, the hefty squash turned gingerly and supported carefully. Some devoted disciples tuck their pumpkins in with blankets every night and greet them enthusiastically with a tape measure every morning.

Should the pumpkin survive these perils, there remains the problem of transporting it to Cooperstown, which for some growers is miles from the safety of the pumpkin patch. Operating with utmost care, they cautiously winch the pumpkins from their beds and secure them in trailers and trucks. One slip could result in hundreds of pounds of potentially prize-winning pumpkin ending up as pie filler.

Lords of the Gourd: The Pursuit of Excellence is produced by Mark Lewis.