[31 Days of Halloween] October 23
Giant pumpkins and their record-breaking growth
Good evening, ghosts and goblins,
A quick one for a late night.
I was recently reading about the world’s largest pumpkin — a new world record is set every year, and 2025’s big gourd award went to two brothers in England.
(Another fun fact, the world record for the longest pumpkin paddler — as in, someone rowing down a river in a hollowed-out giant pumpkin — is from Oregon, and he originally got into growing giant gourds to participate in the Giant Pumpkin Regatta right here in Portland.)
Then I found this article about the art and science of giant pumpkins.
“Food companies, in particular, build their entire businesses on developing the biggest and best. …
Giant pumpkins, by contrast, have a singular purpose: to become as heavy as possible. They don’t have to be beautiful, taste good, or withstand transport, because they are not food. When companies develop boundary-pushing crops and animals, that tends to be an isolationist enterprise, shrouded in secrecy. But in the giant-pumpkin community, there is less incentive to guard seeds and techniques. Most competitions are low-stakes local affairs, and nobody ever became rich off giant pumpkins, not even Howard Dill.
Breaking records is largely seen as a communal effort. “The secret to our success is that we are a sharing community,” Grande said.”
Anyway, a very interesting read!
Til tomorrow,
Laura
October 24, 2025