A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.
Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.
His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms), falling short of the world record he set last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).
Gienger, 44, said that as he has done in the past, he focused on having healthy soil and well-fed plants but that a cold fall with record-breaking rain likely impacted his pumpkin's growth.
"It takes a lot of good soil biology, good soil health and a lot of work in the beginning to get it this big," said Gienger. He also constructed a tent over the pumpkin to get it growing early.
“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working," Gienger said. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”
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Gienger and his family drove his gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to California.
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He said the giant pumpkin's next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional carvers will do a 3D carve on it at a Halloween event.
In addition to a cash prize of $9 per pound for the winning gourd, which amounts to $22,239, Gienger will also receive a championship ring and a coveted Mel Mello Sr. Grand Champion Growers Jacket.
