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world record pumpkin hovering above crowd of worshipers
Ian Paton and his twin brother Stuart are legends within the pumpkin community. Year after year, Ian Paton has broken his own world record for the ‘Heaviest Pumpkin Ever Grown‘ and he did it again this year by weighing a 2,856.8-pound pumpkin.
Last year, Ian Paton set the Guinness World Record for the heaviest pumpkin of all-time at 2,819-pounds, and he has been smashing records since the early 2000s. That image below is from 2010, years into his pumpkin journey with his twin brother while pushing the limits of just how large a pumpkin can be.
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Ian (left) and Stuart Paton in their nursery in the New Forest, Hampshire, with their giant world record pumpkin
Is There No Limit To How Big Pumpkins Can Grow? Ian Paton Shows Of New World Record Pumpkin
First off, there is a LOT that goes into growing a pumpkin of this size. It requires a specialized germination process, top secret seeds, and constant tending to.
Ian Paton told the BBC News his new world record pumpkin, named ‘Bagheera,’ required six hours each day of hands-on care. On top of that, Bagheera drank around 130-gallons of water each day. In the past, Ian had entered pumpkin growing competitions with his twin brother but this year he went stag and the glory is all his.
Here’s the moment Ian Paton weighed his world record pumpkin which tipped the scales at 2,819 pounds:
The largest pumpkins in the world can grow 50-pounds in a single day. Let that sink in for a moment. A gourd growing 50lbs in 24 hours. There is truly no limit, that we know of, as to how large pumpkins can get.
According to a report from the BBC, after being certified as a new world record pumpkin Bagheera is going to be broken up and converted into cow feed. Pumpkin is a nutrient-dense superfood and palatable to many species outside of humans. Before the record-setting pumpkin gets blown up, however, it is on display in England at the Sunnyfields farm near Southampton.
For context, here is what last year’s 2,819-pound pumpkin grown by Ian and Stuart Paton looked like. This new record was nearly 40-pounds heavier!
The BBC ran a segment on this marvel of farming which you can check out here on YouTube.