See Three of the Largest Pumpkins in the World at New York Botanical Garden This Weekend
It’s the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Three of the world’s largest pumpkins will be on display at the New York Botanical Garden this weekend, weighing between 1935.5 pounds and 2116 pounds. The two largest pumpkins come from Topsfield, Massachusetts and the third from North Scituate, Rhode Island. The pumpkins from Topsfield are by Woody Lancaster, who grows his giant pumpkins in his backyard. He has been so dedicated to the cause, he dug up his pool to make room for the pumpkins, which can add on 50 pounds per day during parts of the growth process.
The third pumpkin was grown by Joe Jutras, a long-time veteran of the giant pumpkin competitions who holds many records. He likens the process to “breeding horses. You’re using seeds that grew big pumpkins last year and the year before that. You want a record of going big and heavy. We all know the mothers and grandmother.”
Photograph Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden
Photograph Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden
The pumpkins are at the New York Botanical Garden in collaboration with an organization called the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC), a governing body that consists of “80 official weigh-off sites worldwide, their supporting clubs, and growers.” The good news is that the GPC also encourages environmentally-friendly approaches, “using basic organic techniques that have shown extreme fruit development can be obtained without harming our surroundings.”
Photograph Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden
Giant Pumpkin Weekend is part of Spooky Pumpkin Garden, the Halloween takeover of the New York Botanical Garden in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. From 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and Sunday you can meet the pumpkin growers and learn from them in Q&A sessions on both days. There will also be pumpkin carving demonstrations by master carvers.
Next, check out 16 alternative ways to celebrate Halloween and the Top 10 Secrets of the New York Botanical Garden.
