There's more to the international competition for world's largest pumpkin than just bragging rights.

Cameron Palmer/Emcee – Half Moon Bay World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off: “Alright, are you guys ready?  Travis Gienger, of Minnesota, here you go! What do we got? Two-four-seven-one!”

After another cross-country haul, the current giant pumpkin world record holder fell short of his 2,749-pound feat from 2023, but still managed to top the scales again at the annual Half Moon Bay, California World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off.  It’s a meticulous feat he’s achieved 4 of the past 5 years competing with mostly west coast growers.

Travis Gienger/Anoka, Minnesota/1st Place - 2,471 Lbs: “I’m using a lot of biologicals.  Mycorrhiza, bacillus blends, when I’m burying these vines – and a special blend of potting soil…and then the roots just scream out the side.”

Often referred to as the Superbowl of giant pumpkins…

Cameron Palmer/Emcee – Half Moon Bay World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off: “He’s going to get a check for 22-thousand…”

…Half Moon Bay touts big prize money.

Cameron Palmer/Emcee – Half Moon Bay World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off: “Come on up!”

 Nine dollars per pound for 1st place, and up to 30-thousand dollars for setting a new world record.

Travis Gienger might have a NASCAR look - decked out with logos from companies that sponsor his journeys - but no one grows as a full-time job.  So what is the driver?

Brandon Dawson/Sonoma County, California/2nd Place - 2,4765 Lbs: “You’re not going into it thinking, hey I’m going to make a profit or something like that, but if you do, that’s a bonus, right?  It’s really for the camaraderie of the community of growers.  Everybody shares the secrets and shares the growing tips and shares seeds.”

Leonardo Urena/Napa, California/3rd Place - 2,390 Lbs: “Trading seeds is important and we always prepare for…to invite new growers.  It’s like me, you know… We always carry them and just hand them out.”

Decades ago, in Mexico, University of Michigan archaeologists unearthed the earliest known proof of western agriculture – pumpkin-related squash seeds.

When Christopher Columbus arrived, they were a common indigenous crop, with several varieties native to the Americas. Shipping them all back to Europe resulted in various cultural connotations – and larger tropical and subtropical specimens began to realize further potential when unleashed in northern soils.

But it was William Warnock, of Goderich, Ontario, Canada, who kicked the door wide open – growing World’s Fair world records in 1893 and 1900.  Long before the gateway arch graced the city’s skyline, lighting struck a third time, as Warnock notched his final world record in St. Louis

Adam Kloppe/Public Historian – Missouri Historical Society: “This is an exhibit that explores the history of the 1904 World’s Fair.  It’s one of the largest events in St. Louis’ history.  Over 19 million people came to St. Louis to visit the World’s Fair and to see people, products and ideas from all over the world.”

Missouri Public Historian Adam Kloppe says Warnock’s crowd-pleasing 403-pound mammoth squash, or giant pumpkin, was a record that held for over 70 years.

Adam Kloppe/Public Historian – Missouri Historical Society: “After the fair, it was bought by the Rennie Seed Company, of Toronto, for $10, and then they sold the seeds for 25 cents under the name ‘Goderich Giant’.”

Though Pennsylvanian Bob Ford grew a 451-pounder in 1976, it was another Canadian, Howard Dill of Windsor, Ontario, who broke the dam for the modern era.  

Dill’s father had given Goderich Giant seeds a whirl, and passed the torch to Howard.  After logging 459 and 493 ½ pound world records in 1980 and ’81, respectively, Howard patented his selectively bred “Dill’s Atlantic Giants”- the genetic basis for all world record giant pumpkins today.

Howard Dill/Windsor, Nova Scotia - Canada: “You never know who’s out there that’s going to come up big. And with the seeds, there’s no limit to what the potential of these things may grow to.  If somebody has a little bit of luck and a good growing season…who’s to know?”  

Growers jumped on the bandwagon, associations formed, and standards were drawn up to coordinate Columbus Day weigh-offs at sites in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.  

Tom Norlin/Founder – Ryan Norlin Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off/Hopkinton, Iowa: “Howard was a really nice fella.  He would always take the time to talk to you.  I know he was a busy man.  He told me once – everybody was constantly reaching out to him.  The phone never quit ringing.”

Infighting gave birth to a new standard-bearer, The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, or GPC.  Anamosa, Iowa’s memorial Ryan Norlin Weigh-Off, named in honor of co-founder Tom Norlin’s nephew and helper, was one of the early sanctioned sites.

Tom Norlin/Founder – Ryan Norlin Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off/Hopkinton, Iowa: “We were always told that we were probably not going to be able to grow as large of pumpkins as they were growing in southern Canada, New England, Minnesota…but that has proved really not to be the case.”

Norlin has since stepped aside, but his brother Greg and family have continued to build and honor their son Ryan’s memory.

Pete Caspers/Treasurer & USA Central Region Representative – The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth/Pesota, Iowa: “This is one of the original 4 sites.  I mean, winning Anamosa, that’s like…top-notch right there.”

Sanctioned sites, grower methods and plant genetics have grown exponentially since the 1980’s.  World records have been broken almost 30 times.  

Don Young/2009 Half Moon Bay Winner – 1,658 Lbs./Des Moines, Iowa: “This is all just witchcraft anyway, but…There’s a little bit of vibration here, but it’s going to weigh more than it estimates.”

Iowan and GPC Hall of Famer Don Young, who fell short of an official 2007 world record by just 27 pounds, says he was the first Midwesterner crazy enough to venture out and win Half Moon Bay.  That 2009 milestone was a calculation based in-part around the kind of bluffing and misdirection some growers are known for.

Pete Caspers/Treasurer & USA Central Region Representative – The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth/Peosta, Iowa: “It’s chess.”

On Young’s heels, Pete Caspers holds Iowa’s state record: 2,424 pounds.  He regularly captures top spots at regional weigh-offs - which promote unique festivities and help boost local economies.

Pete Caspers/Treasurer & USA Central Region Representative – The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth/Peosta, Iowa: “Don Young, he was Mr. Iowa.  Then before Don Young it was Bob Ruff, from Garnavillo, Iowa.  I mean they’re both in books, and it’s like…It’s kind of my turn, I think.”

As Caspers claws his way up the food chain, Half Moon Bay is on his bucket list.  Database technology may have made simultaneous, same day, worldwide weigh-offs go by the wayside, but the prestige remains.

Reporter: “So what now? What’s the giant pumpkin equivalent of ‘I’m going to Disneyland’?”

Travis Gienger/Anoka, Minnesota/1st Place - 2,471 Lbs: “Yeah, this IS the giant pumpkin of I’m going to Disneyland.”

For Market to Market, I’m Josh Buettner.

contact: Josh@iowapbs.org