If you have ever watched the documentary Lords of the Gourd: The Pursuit of Excellence you know that giant pumpkin growing is serious business. These individuals spend years trying to perfect their methods in an attempt to grow record-breaking pumpkins every year.
Over the weekend, three men in North America achieved what nobody before them had in competitive giant pumpkin growing. As the Washing Post reports, Ron Wallace of Greene, R.I., set a new world record for the first pumpkin ever to weigh more than a ton. His pumpkin tipped the scales at 2,009 pounds on Friday netting him a $15,000 prize. “Ron Wallace is back, baby!" he shouted as his supporters hoisted him into the air.
The day before a New Hampshire man seemed to break the world record with a pumpkin that weighed 1,843 pounds at the Deerfield Fair in Deerfield, N.H. For one day brief Steve Geddes was the Lord of the Gourd.
Similarly, Gerard Ansem set a new Canada-wide record for the heaviest pumpkin with one that weighed 1,616 pounds. Not big enough to topple Ron Wallace’s record but a fantastic showing nonetheless.
I tip my pumpkin pie to these three men who have achieved what I have yearned to do since I learned about giant pumpkin competitions.
If these monstrous pumpkins have piqued your interest in giant pumpkin growing check your PBS listing for airings of Lord of the Gourd. It starts its yearly fall screening on October 4th. And don’t miss our photo gallery of Ron Sweeney’s amazing pumpkin carvings for some Halloween pumpkin carving inspiration.
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