3,156-pound pumpkin grown in Rhode Island is inspected for possible
world record
[October 13, 2026]
By TERRY CHEA and MIKELLA SCHUETTLER
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Rhode Island pumpkin grower appears to
have broken the world record for the heaviest pumpkin, with his giant
squash topping the current record by nearly 300 pounds (136 kilograms).
Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, weighed his pumpkin Saturday at a
contest in New England and is now waiting for the Guinness Book of World
Records to confirm he smashed the record, set about a week earlier by a
grower in England. Wallace said he's been in contact with Guinness
officials who say his record is on track to be verified.
“It’s truly massive, it was a pleasure to grow,” Wallace said Monday by
phone.
The Guinness Book of World Records currently lists a 2,857-pound
(1,296-kilogram) squash grown by Ian Paton, of Lymington, England, as
the record holder, set on Oct. 3.
Guinness officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The record-breaking gourd comes as growers across the world are joining
competitions this month in the hopes their pumpkins will be crowned
king. In Northern California on Monday, a Minnesota grower won a
prominent annual competition for the fifth time in a row.
Potential record-breaking pumpkin
Wallace went home with $3,500 at his local contest. He said other
competitions tried to entice him with bigger prize money, some totaling
$70,000, but it was important for him to be surrounded by his hometown
for the record-setting win.
“I was just ecstatic, the place just exploded,” Wallace said, describing
the moment the pumpkin was weighed.
Wallace says he owes a lot to the pumpkin-growing community who always
freely share tips and tricks to grow the biggest gourd. For the first
time this year, Wallace began growing his pumpkins in a greenhouse,
which he says makes a big difference.
“The only way you create a 3,000-pound pumpkin is a community working
together,” he said.
Wallace got into the hobby after starting his own business selling
gardening supplies online. He's proud to be a part of the
pumpkin-growing community and says competitions help legitimize growers.
According to Wallace, the agriculture industry is increasingly reaching
out to pumpkin-growers, asking for advice on soil and other growing
techniques.
The California pumpkin weigh-off is in its sixth decade
In Northern California, a pumpkin named Rocky won a major annual
pumpkin-weighing contest, tipping the scale at 2,389 pounds (1,083
kilograms), but fell far short of a possible new world record.
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People prepare a pumpkin for the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin
Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP
Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Horticulture teacher Travis Gienger hauled his pumpkin across the
country from Minnesota to win the contest for a fifth time. He's
going home with $21,501 in prize money after beating dozens of other
giant pumpkin-growers in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.
He missed out on last year's contest because his pumpkin broke while
growing. Hoping for a comeback story, he named this year’s pumpkin
“Rocky” after the iconic boxer played by Sylvester Stallone.
“Five-time champion, that’s what we came here to do,” Gienger said
following the win.
Gienger and his family drove 35 hours, lugging a pumpkin the size of
a small car, to California.
Gienger grows his gourds in his backyard pumpkin patch in Anoka, a
city on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis,
according to Ronan Fowler, the competition’s organizer. This year,
Gienger had to deal with temperatures that dipped below freezing,
and he says that in order to start competing more seriously, he’ll
likely have to start growing pumpkins in a climate-controlled
environment like Wallace.
“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree
weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty
unbelievable,” Fowler said.
Hundreds attended the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off to
enjoy food trucks, music, and pumpkin-related jokes. Earlier in the
day, the crowd went wild when a very symmetrical pumpkin named
Tinkerbell won the prettiest pumpkin contest.
The prize money was calculated at $9 per pound of pumpkin, and
Gienger's winning gourd will be showcased during a parade through
Half Moon Bay this weekend. Gienger missed out on an extra prize of
$30,000 for breaking the world record.
Sadly, these giants are grown for their size, not flavor, so there
were no giant pumpkin pies at the end of the festival.
___
Associated Press writer Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco
contributed to this report.
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