STILLWATER, MN. — A giant pumpkin grown in Lancaster, Minnesota, was larger than any other pumpkin in history, but fell short of the world record for weight at the Stillwater Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 14.
The pumpkin, grown by Charlie Bernstrom and named “Joy”, measured OTT (Over the Top) 515 inches and weighed 2,501 pounds. It was the largest pumpkin ever weighed at the Stillwater competition and took first place that day.
Michael Johnson / Agvik
“I never thought I could grow a 2,500-pound pumpkin,” Bernstrom said after his pumpkin was weighed and bottles of champagne were sprinkled to celebrate the achievement on Stillwater’s historic waterfront.
The world record for heaviest pumpkin was broken on October 9, 2023 by Travis Ginger of Anoka, Minnesota, with a 2,749-pound giant weighed in at the 50th World Pumpkin Weigh-In Championships in Half Moon Bay, California.
Bernstrom said he got the seeds to grow the pumpkin from a previous Minnesota state record pumpkin grown by Ginger. In fact, many of the giants that day were the seeds of previous Ginger giants.
Although it wasn’t a world record, Bernstrom was still delighted with the pumpkin, which was certainly one of the largest in the world.
“It just takes so long to get it to scale and then seeing the number you want to see is pretty cool,” Bernstrom said. “They talk about world records, but this was just as good.”
Bernstrom praised his fellow giant pumpkin growers for their willingness to help each other and offer advice. There is no doubt what helped him raise such a monster.
Michael Johnson / Agvik
It was an outstanding year for giant pumpkins, with 49 people attending the weigh-in in Stillwater. Perhaps thanks to the drought in the Midwest, pumpkin growers were able to control the moisture and nutrients going into their pumpkins and take advantage of many hot growing days. According to Stillwater Harvest Fest organizer Joe Eilts, the conditions were right. He was part of the group that founded the event in 2005.
Michael Johnson / Agvik
“In fact, even in a dry year, the pumpkins will probably do better because there’s less disease…fewer insects, probably due to less water and rain and things like that,” Eilts said.
Bev Anderson of Center City, Minnesota, was one of those who had the best year ever for growing giant pumpkins. She, like countless other producers, set personal bests at this year’s event. At the 2017 event, her first pumpkin weighed more than 1,200 pounds. She said wrestling has kept up with the heat this year.
“It’s hard as a brick,” Anderson said of his 1,893-pound pumpkin. Her previous record was 1,540 pounds. “It’s already got me thinking about next year.”
The event in Stillwater was one of the largest events of its kind in the world. Eilts said there are 160 such weigh-ins worldwide. Not to be outdone, the Stillwater weigh-in managed to set the world average weight record for its top 10 pumpkins at 2,136 pounds, breaking the record just set in Iowa of 2,129 pounds.
According to Eilts, treasurer of the St. Croix Manufacturers Association, the site is a “sweet spot.” Growers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and South Dakota gathered here at the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole.
“We have the perfect balance of warmth and daylight,” Eilts said. “Exactly what you need to grow a giant pumpkin.”
Event host Chris Brown of Nowthen shared pumpkin facts over the course of several hours weighing giant pumpkins. That’s after dozens of other pumpkins, watermelons, squashes and melons were weighed and measured during a day that was cloudy with showers and showers. It is the largest family event in Stillwater, attracting up to 20,000 people.
Michael Johnson / Agvik
Brown explained that the world of giant fruit and vegetable farming has exploded over the past few years. It used to take growers decades to add just 50 pounds to a pumpkin. In fact, in 1900, the largest pumpkin weighed 400 pounds; the first 1000-pound gun appeared in 1996; in 2012, the pumpkin weighed 2,000 pounds.
This year, many growers hung their heads after their pumpkins were just one day away from topping 2,000 pounds. Many of these pumpkins grow 10-40 pounds per day.
Farmers are now just a couple of hundred pounds away from breaking the £3,000 mark.
When each pumpkin was weighed, just before the weight was announced, the grower was asked how big he thought it was. More than once the weight was jokingly referred to as “3,000 pounds.”
This weight seems high and dreamy, but maybe next year it will become a reality.
If you want to see Bernstrom’s giant pumpkin up close, you still have a chance to see it in Lancaster, Minnesota on Saturday, October 21st. Bernstrom’s giant pumpkins have sparked a community event that draws hundreds of people to see his enormous pumpkins. fell from the crane. Smaller pumpkins are launched from cannons. Proceeds support literacy programs at Lancaster School, where Charlie works as a bus driver and his wife, Mallory, as a teacher.