Biggest Pumpkin Ever

You can hold most fruits in your hands. But some can grow so heavy you’d need a crane to lift them! Just ask Travis Gienger of Minnesota. Last year, he grew the heaviest pumpkin ever known. It weighed 2,749 pounds—about as much as many small cars! Gienger’s massive pumpkin won the 2023 World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California. It beat the previous record holder by 47 pounds. Gienger was awarded $30,000 for his giant entry!

Gienger started growing pumpkins when he was 13. “Ever since then, I hoped to set the world record for the largest pumpkin,” he says.

This made Gienger want to learn more about the science of growing plants. That led him to study horticulture in college. Today he is a horticulture teacher at Anoka Technical College. He uses what he’s learned to grow world champion giant pumpkins.

Gienger started growing his seeds indoors in April. That way he could control the temperature and other conditions as the seeds grew. Not all seeds grow into giant pumpkins. So Gienger used seeds from past massive pumpkins he’s grown. These seeds are more likely to grow huge.

The pumpkin seeds germinated in April. Then Gienger transferred them outside in early May. He grew the young sprouts under a plastic covering that protected them from bad weather and the cold.

The plants soon flowered. In nature, bees pollinate the flowers. But Gienger did this by hand. He transferred grains of pollen from male flowers to female ones. Soon tiny green fruits began growing under the female flowers. The pumpkins grow for about 100 days. And they can gain up to 70 pounds per day!

Gienger decided to focus on two of his biggest pumpkins. He spent about three hours a day caring for the two pumpkins. Each pumpkin was watered up to 12 times per day. That used 300 gallons of water! Gienger closely monitored soil conditions. He tested the soil to make sure it contained enough nutrients. Gienger added different types of fertilizers when needed. He sprayed pesticides to get rid of bugs.

Gienger took one more step. Pumpkin plants grow on vines above the soil. He buried these vines. Roots grew from the vines underground. The extra roots helped the plant take in more water and nutrients than it would have normally. That helped it grow enormous! 

By October, the pumpkin for the contest was 7 feet across! Gienger loaded the giant fruit onto a trailer and hauled it all the way from Minnesota to the contest in California.

The prize-winning pumpkin wasn’t turned into pies after the win! Instead, it was sent to New York, where it was carved into a sculpture. The seeds were also given away to other giant pumpkins growers from all over the world.