Pumpkin weighing 2,471 pounds wins California contest

HALF MOON BAY, California — A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin weighing contest in Northern California, where his enormous gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.

Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota defeated his nearest competitor by 5 pounds (2.7 kilograms) to claim victory at the 51st World Pumpkin Weigh-Off Championships in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms), which wasn’t enough the world record he put down a pumpkin last year weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).

Gienger, 44, said he focused, as he has in the past, on healthy soil and well-nourished plants, but a cold fall with record-breaking rain likely affected his pumpkin’s growth.

“We had some really bad weather and somehow I kept working,” Gienger said. “I had to work for this and we finally got it done, but it wasn’t much.”

Gienger and his family drove his giant gourd 35 hours to California.

He said the giant pumpkin’s next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional sculptors will create a 3D carving on it during a Halloween event.