A man from Minnesota has topped his own Record, bringing in a homegrown Pumpkin to this year’s World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off that was even bigger than last year’s.
Not only has he continued to outdo himself, but he has also set a new world record for the heaviest pumpkin ever grown.
Travis Gienger is a horticulture teacher who has been growing pumpkins since he was a teenager. This past spring, he started cultivating what would be the massive, record-breaking pumpkin, although, at the time, it was nothing more than a small, perfectly round gourd in his backyard.
Because of its flawlessly spherical shape that resembled a basketball, he named the pumpkin “Michael Jordan.”
He hauled the colossal piece of produce from Anoka, Minnesota, all the way to Half Moon Bay, California, where the annual giant pumpkin competition was being held. He was pronounced the winner of the competition with his pumpkin, which turned out to be a whopping 2,749 pounds, setting a new world record.
Previously, the world record holder for the heaviest pumpkin was an Italian grower who grew a 2,702-pound squash two years ago. It was the first-ever giant pumpkin to exceed the 2,700-pound mark.
Now, Gienger’s gourd is officially the heaviest, weighing just 47 pounds more. His enormous pumpkin has not just earned him a ceremonious title. He has also received $30,000 in prize money and a jacket to commemorate the occasion.
Gienger had no idea of the potential the pumpkin possessed. He did not foresee it growing into something much more extraordinary than a basketball since he was focusing on a second pumpkin in his garden that he was sure would be the prize winner.
The second pumpkin weighed 2,222 pounds and was on track to get even bigger until it split in August.
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Still, it’s quite remarkable how Gienger has been able to coax tiny seeds that fit in the palm of your hand into creations that need to be moved by forklift. But how did he even manage to accomplish such an incredible feat?
After winning last year’s competition, Gienger knew he needed to step up his game if he wanted to beat his own performance. So, he used better fertilizer and a new type of seed called 2365 Wolf, which is notorious for producing extremely large pumpkins.
What makes his success even more amazing is the fact that his pumpkins are raised outside and exposed to all kinds of weather conditions rather than in a greenhouse, where the environment can be controlled. Next year, he plans to grow the same seeds again.
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