This year, Zinger’s goal was to surpass her previous pumpkins. He lovingly cared for Michael Jordan, watering his gourd more than a dozen times a day. There is only one purpose: the 50th World Championship pumpkin weigh-in.
Every year, he and dozens of other gourd growers transport their lush winter squash to Half Moon Bay, California, the self-proclaimed “Pumpkin Capital of the World.”
Contestants transport their pumpkins, sometimes across the country, where they are carefully measured, weighed, and inspected by a panel of judges. Giinger loaded the pumpkins onto a trailer, strapped them to the bed of his truck and drove 35 hours from his home in Anoka, Minnesota.
“I just couldn’t get used to it,” said Geinger, 43, a horticulture teacher at Anoka Technical College.
His efforts paid off on Monday, when 6-month-old Michael Jordan weighed in at a whopping 2,749 pounds, beating the competition and also breaking the world record for heaviest pumpkin.
“I really didn’t expect it,” Ginger said, even though Tiger King and Maverick have won this competition in the past.
When choosing a name, he gives the gourd a name that represents the year it grew. Zinger named his 2023 player Michael Jordan, after the basketball star’s jersey number 23.
A Spanish pumpkin grower flew to California this year to see Michael Jordan in the flesh.
“This is a really cool, niche group,” Geinger said, explaining that many of the growers who participate in the annual competition have become friends. “This is a global field.”
The Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival draws thousands of visitors each fall for pumpkin-themed activities. One of his things is weighing himself. This coastal city is known for its expansive pumpkin fields, making it the perfect location for his two-day festival this weekend.
Geinger’s excitement over Michael Jordan was captured on video when a pumpkin was weighed on a giant scale and broke a world record. Hundreds of people in the crowd cheered loudly. The last time someone broke a world record in the Half Moon Bay event was in 1984.
In addition to the bragging rights, Mr. Geinger won Michael Jordan a $30,000 prize, part of which he will use to “reinvest in his hobbies” and the rest set aside for his 2-year-old daughter Lily’s college. The fund he added he intends to keep.
The contest was covered by national and international news outlets, including KSTP-TV and the Guardian.
Giinger learned much of his knowledge about pumpkins from his father, who was also an avid pumpkin grower. Zinger starts planting seeds in his backyard pumpkin patch in mid-April and harvests them in early October.
Extra-large gourds grow from special seeds intended to produce giant pumpkins. People in the pumpkin growing community often exchange and share seeds.
“There’s a really great camaraderie between all the pumpkin growers,” said event organizer Ronan Fowler. He said this year’s contest attracted 35 contestants, including some from Washington state, Oregon, Kansas and British Columbia.
Pumpkin “weighing” contests are held all over the world, including other parts of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Besides using specific seeds, the secret to growing giant gourds is “just the labor and love of caring for the plants, watering them, fertilizing them, pruning them, weeding them,” Giinger said, adding that his wife and neighbors helped with the effort. He pointed out that he was helping. .
Even though Giinger has been growing pumpkins for decades, he is always amazed at how quickly the gourds grow.
At peak growth, “they can grow up to 70 pounds a day,” he says.
The current Guinness World Record holder for the heaviest pumpkin is Italian man Stefano Cutlupi, who harvested a 2,702-pound pumpkin in Tuscany in 2021. Guinness said it has been in contact with Guinness World Records about Michael Jordan, the Guinness World Records Association confirmed in an email. “We are currently waiting to review the evidence,” he told The Washington Post.
Giinger also shares the world record for the largest jack-o’-lantern around, winning the title last October with a pumpkin carved to resemble an eagle. The circumference was 242 inches.
“I can’t wait to do both,” he said of winning his second world record.
A giant orange pumpkin will be on display during the festival, and visitors can pet it and pose with it. The three runner-up pumpkins will also be on display.
“When you see a pumpkin that size, it’s pretty surprising,” Fowler said.
After the festival, the pumpkins “will not become pumpkin pie,” Geinger said, explaining that they will be used at future Halloween events. “It’s going to be very impressive.”
Meanwhile, Ginger is basking in the glory of Michael Jordan. He wants next year’s pumpkins to be even bigger.
“It just brings smiles to people’s faces,” he said.