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.
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"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.”
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.
