Giant Pumpkins!

For months they’ve been lurking in the soil. Now, they’re taking over the United States, filling fields from Washington to West Virginia.

The Pumpkins

They are the pumpkins! Pumpkins start out as seeds that are planted in the soil. During long summer days, they ripen in the sun. Now, in the fall, there are plenty ready for picking! But while most types of this seasonal crop are small enough to pick by hand, others are scarily big!

Half Moon Bay, California

Welcome to the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Held in Half Moon Bay, California, this competition rewards the heaviest pumpkins grown each year.

Travis Gienger, Minnesota

This year’s winner is Travis Gienger from Minnesota. His winning pumpkin, Rudy, weighs 2,471 lbs—roughly the same as two grizzly bears! It was a close competition, but the result left Travis ecstatic.

“So this was a six-month process to grow this 2,471-pound pumpkin. Every day you’re watering and feeding [it], watching for storms… [I] was barely able to squeak out the win, but, hey, we’re happy!”

This isn’t Travis’s first success. He’s now won the competition four times. Last year, he even set the world record for the world’s heaviest pumpkin, which weighed 2,749 lbs—that’s equal to two grizzly bears plus an ostrich! Now that’s a monster!

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