Ron Wallace, a farmer from Greene, R.I., planted a small seed almost exactly six months ago, on April 15. And from small seeds grow mighty pumpkins.
And now Mr. Wallace’s small seed has transformed into a record-breaking gourd, clocking in at 3,156 pounds at a pumpkin weigh-off at Frerichs Farm in Warren, R.I.
Mr. Wallace’s pumpkin has been hailed by Guinness as the largest ever, smashing the current record of 2,856 pounds set just a week before in Britain.
“The plant was spectacular from the beginning,” he said, “and that’s a good sign. I pollinated the pumpkin on June 8. And 30 days later, it was 600 pounds, which is incredible.”
Still, that was no guarantee of a record-breaker. “There’s so many variables, things that can go on throughout the season,” he said.
This month, it was ready for transport to the weigh-off, not a small task for the Brobdingnagian vegetable. “We have a large harness that goes on the top of the pumpkin with seatbelt straps down the side, and we cinch a heavy-duty rope around the bottom,” Mr. Wallace said. “When you start to lift the pumpkin, the harness tightens around the sides and the bottom of the pumpkin. It’s a very, very careful process.”
The pumpkin was covered with damp sheets and a comforter before being shrink-wrapped and put on a specially made palette on the back of a flatbed truck for transportation to the weighing site.
There were about 20 entrants at the competition. While Mr. Wallace’s historically large pumpkin was clearly the biggest, its exact weight remained a mystery, even to him. “I don’t weigh them,” he said. “It would be like opening up your gifts before Christmas.” But he knew he “had a shot at 3,000 pounds.”
Guinness is expected to certify the 3,156-pound record. (There are a few finicky rules. “For the purpose of this record, a pumpkin will not include any squash classified as 100 percent of the following colors or color combinations: green, blue and gray,” Guinness points out sternly.)
And what next for the massive vegetable? “These pumpkins live a celebrity lifestyle,” Mr. Wallace said. “They are put on parade, and they’re the emcee basically at events.” Trips to Pittsburgh and Massachusetts are already planned for Mr. Wallace’s pumpkin.
Yet the glamour is fleeting. “Let’s face it, after Halloween, other than us pumpkin growers, not many people care about a giant pumpkin,” he said.
As it completes the circle of life, the ginormous gourd will reach its final fate: becoming compost.
Around 1900, The Chronica Horticulturae reported, 400-pound pumpkins were getting prizes. But starting in the 1980s, the record weights began shooting upward because of improvements in soil, pruning and pest control. There has also been genetic change, as farmers seek out the seeds of other large pumpkins in hopes of growing a massive one of their own.
Mr. Wallace noted that the very large pumpkins are babied and pampered throughout their lives. His grew at an average of slightly more than 60 pounds per day at its peak, he said. “But the key thing is you have to have top of the line genetics. These pumpkins are a science, and the growers are very scientific in their approach.”
He also credits exchange of information on the internet for the sudden increase in size over the last 40 years. “The only way we’ve gotten to 3,000 pounds is by a whole community working together,” he said.
Mr. Wallace sells his seeds on the internet to those who might wish to grow a gigantic pumpkin of their own. But the seeds of this big one will not be generally available right away.
“On a pumpkin like this, I will donate them to the hobby,” he said, meaning that clubs around the world will get the seeds to auction as a fund-raiser. “A true champion like this, it’s got to get in the hands of the right people,” Mr. Wallace said.
As for his theory on why there is an annual fascination with the great pumpkins? “You ever see anybody say a bad word about a pumpkin?” Mr. Wallace said. “When you see one of these giants, everybody is just in awe, they want to touch it, they want to sit on it. They want to get photos with it.
“A giant pumpkin brings a smile to everybody’s face, and it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what nationality you are,” he said. “Giant pumpkins don’t care about any of that.”
Susan Beachy contributed research.
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