John Hawkley Grows Gourd to a Staggering 2,058 Pounds
Farms.com
This Monday saw the North American record for the largest pumpkin broken at the Half Moon Bay Festival in California. The record was broken at the festival’s annual Half Moon Bay Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off which has been hosting the event for growers and hobbyists for the past 41 years.
John Hawkley was able to grow the behemoth of a gourd to a staggering 2,058 pounds, which is even more impressive due to drought conditions in the region this year. The record narrowly defeated competitor Tim Mathison’s impressive pumpkin weighing in at 2,032 pounds.
Hawkley is keeping the secrets to his impressive feat silent; he has however stated that he did not overwater his pumpkin in consideration of one of the most severe droughts affecting California.
So what does Hawkley get for all his effort? Well for every pound of pumpkin he receives $6 as well as an additional $1,000 for having the biggest pumpkin in California, a well-deserved prize for his efforts.
The winning pumpkin titled “colossal ghost” was unable to beat the world record for largest pumpkin. That feat was claimed by a Swiss grower in Germany on Sunday. That pumpkin weighed in at an unbelievable 2,323 and easily outweighed the “colossal ghost” by several hundred pounds. Had Hawkley won the world record title for largest pumpkin he would have taken home a prize of $30,000. Hawkley plans on reclaiming his title at the next Half Moon Bay competition and may one day break the world record if he can perfect his growing technique.
Photo Coutesy of Half Moon Bay Festival