Try to grow the largest pumpkin possible, the task sounds simple, but requires a ton of work. Giant pumpkin growing features massive pumpkins, driven by the competitive global event and large prize payouts. This article will cover the bases of how to grow such a gigantic pumpkin, previous and upcoming competitions, and the largest pumpkin ever grown.
Let’s go back to April, about 120 days before a competition day when it all begins. To start off, competition pumpkins cannot grow from a standard patch of seeds, so growers typically use Dill’s Atlantic giant strains, which sources from previous prize-winning pumpkins. To prepare for such a gargantuan pumpkin vine, it is recommended to have an 800 to 1,200 square foot space to grow as it forms a network of leaves. The soil is also a key component requiring growers to closely monitor the soil, balancing a pH of 6.4 to 6.8 and adding mycorrhizal fungi to boost the growth. Since a few pumpkins grow from one vine, the grower selects the best-shaped gourd and the rest are removed so that way the plant can give 100% of the energy onto just one pumpkin. During peak growth, these gourds require an immense amount of water of 100 to 150 gallons per day, along with milking the vine and storing the pumpkin under a canopy away from direct sunlight. Now that a pumpkin is formed, all the hard work has been completed and what is left is to transport it using heavy machinery, soft padding, and custom pallets to prevent splitting or bruising.
These pumpkin growing competitions are often called giant pumpkin weigh offs where highly competitive regional and global events are coordinated to make the competitions possible. Giant pumpkins mature in late summer and early autumn, the competitive season typically peaks every year between the months of September and October. A couple of recent competitions that occurred was The Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival where Linden Fowler won with an astonishing 2,195-pound pumpkin receiving $7,000, the 13th BC Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off with Jordan Abbate composing of a pumpkin that weighed 1,485 pounds, and the 53rd Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh -Off with the winner ____ who managed a screaming size of ____. One event that you should maybe look forward to next year if interested in the National Pumpkin Weigh Off (2027) occurring on September 25th.
Now the topic you’ve probably clicked on this article for and that is, what is the world record for the largest grown pumpkin ever. The pumpkin named Muggle, was grown by twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2025 at the 6th Wargrave Nursery Giant Vegetable Weigh-Off coming in with the weight of 2,819 pound and 4 ounces (1,278.8 kg) and measure over 21 feet (649.8 cm) in circumference. This pumpkin was the first time the heaviest pumpkin record was held by British growers. Muggle took 130 days to grow and received 130 gallons of water. The value of a single seed from Muggle is anywhere from $500 to $1,500+ and due to a pumpkin containing from 100 to over 500 seeds, the Paton brothers made tens of thousands of dollars just from the seeds alone. Crazy.
Overall, these pumpkin growing competitions are truly a one of a kind event featuring massive gourds of pumpkins which do not compare in size to ones you can find at your local supermarket. So maybe the next time you hear about giant pumpkins you can appreciate the amount of effort put into making these incredible works of giant pumpkins.