In an exciting turn of events at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off held in Half Moon Bay, California, a Minnesota horticulture teacher, Travis Gienger, has claimed the top prize with his impressive pumpkin weighing in at 2,471 pounds. This marks his fourth consecutive win at the annual event.
Travis, who hails from Anoka, Minnesota, triumphed over his closest competitor by a margin of 6 pounds. However, this year’s pumpkin fell short of his previous record, which was an astonishing 2,749 pounds set last year.
At 44 years old, Travis attributed his success to a consistent focus on soil health and thorough plant nutrition, although he acknowledged that the unseasonably cold autumn weather and record rainfall had posed challenges for pumpkin growth this year. “We faced some truly terrible weather, but I kept pushing through somehow. I had to put in a lot of effort for this pumpkin; we made it happen, although it wasn’t as successful as I had hoped,” he shared.
The dedication to his craft was evident as Travis and his family undertook a 35-hour drive to transport the colossal pumpkin to California. Looking ahead, he revealed that the next stop for his giant pumpkin will be in Southern California, where a professional carving team plans to create a three-dimensional sculpture as part of a Halloween event.
