The Year's Biggest Pumpkin Sets World Record

If you carved this pumpkin, you could probably live in it.

What weight would you guess for the biggest pumpkin ever grown? 500 pounds? 1,000 pounds? Try, 1,810.5 pounds. The giant pumpkin, grown by Wisconsin's Chris Stevens, is currently on display at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) until Halloween, along with two other prize-winning pumpkins from regional weigh-offs across the United States.

I've seen these pumpkins, and let me tell you: These are some palace-sized pumpkins. Stevens's pumpkin is the current world record holder!

Stevens didn't end up with such a big pumpkin on a lark. Giant pumpkins (Cucurbita maxima) are grown for display and contests. These heavy squashes are so big that they grow lying flat on the ground, which is why all of the winning pumpkins at NYBG are laid on their sides, rather than standing up like a traditional Halloween pumpkin. Another difference between these maximus pumpkins and their more humbly-sized counterparts is their light-colored skin, which is the norm for these over-sized squashes.

The growing and judging of giant pumpkins is serious business, with an organization, The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, dedicated to the oversight and jurisdiction of pumpkin weigh-offs around the globe.


Here are the two runners-up to Chris Stevens's world record:

Grown by: Ken Sweet
Location: Washington, Michigan
Weight: 1,725 pounds

Grown by: Steve Connolly
Location: Sharon, Massachusetts
Weight: 1,674.5 pounds

For more great gardening stories, don't miss:

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- How To: Plant An Indoor Herb Garden That You'll Actually Use

This story on maniac pumpkin carvers on Holidash is a must read!