Teacher grows pumpkin weighing more than 1.2 tons, sets world record

AP news agency reported on October 10 that a gardening teacher in Minnesota (USA) has just won the world record for the heaviest pumpkin, after growing a pumpkin weighing 1,247 kg.

Travis Gienger, 43, won the 50th World Pumpkin Championship in Half Moon Bay, California, with a giant pumpkin that could make at least 687 pies.

World - Teacher grows pumpkin weighing more than 1.2 tons, sets world record — The 1,247 kg pumpkin with the Gienger family.

“This is beyond my expectations,” said Gienger, 43, who has grown pumpkins for nearly 30 years. Last year, he also set a record for the largest pumpkin in the United States.

The previous world record for the heaviest pumpkin was set by a grower in Italy with a pumpkin weighing 1,226 kg in 2021, according to Guinness World Records.

Gienger grows squash and pumpkins in his backyard. He said he decided to take extra care of his plants this year, watering them up to 12 times a day and fertilizing them a little more than usual.

He is currently a landscape and horticulture instructor at Anoka Technical College in Minnesota and has been growing pumpkins since he was a teenager, inspired by his father's practice.

He first entered Half Moon Bay's pumpkin contest in 2020 and has won three of the city's last four giant pumpkin contests.

This year's "Pumpkin Champion" won a prize of $30,000 (over 730 million VND) for growing the largest pumpkin and setting a world record.

The giant pumpkin will be on display along with the next three winners through the weekend and people coming to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Arts Festival will be able to take photos with the pumpkin and the winner.

Minh Hoa (reported by Thanh Nien and People's Police)

Source