Biggest Pumpkin In The Patch: Can Charlotte Beat US Record?

CHARLOTTE, NC — There’s a contest for everything, and pumpkins are no exception. You may be rightfully proud of that enormous pumpkin in your patch, but unless it weighs upward of 2,500 pounds, you’re not flirting with any kind of record. It could be a record in Charlotte, though.

That’s a fun challenge to consider as you and your family head out on a rite of fall and visit the pumpkin patches around Charlotte. Where’s the biggest pumpkin you’ve seen?

You can even make it a diversion from the coronavirus pandemic with a classroom outing. Teach them a little about pi — not pumpkin pie, but the mathematical formula to calculate the circumference of a circle — or how to convert pounds to kilograms.

Here’s where to start:

Greater Life Pumpkin Patch
Address: 17025 Lancaster HWY, Charlotte
Hours: Monday through Friday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sunday: 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.

St. Luke's Pumpkin Patch
Address: 52 16th Avenue NW, Hickory

The Hunter Farm
Address: 13624 Providence Road, Weddington, NC
Hours: Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday: 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.

8th Annual Huntersville Fall Festival
Address: Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville
Attractions: Pumpkin Patch, Inflatables, Make your own scarecrow, art and craft tables, face painting, children's games,
Hours: Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Boy Scout Troop 323 Pumpkin Patch
Address: 17029 Kenton Drive, Cornelius
Hours: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Davidson United Methodist Church
Address: 233 South Main Street, Davidson, (704) 892-8277
Hours: all day event, from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31.

Carrigan Farms, LLC
Address: 1261 Oak Ridge Farm Highway, Mooresville, (704) 664-1450.
Attractions: Says Carrigan Farms, "Come pick your own pumpkin, right off the vine! Carrigan Farms' pumpkin patches are open the entire month of October with shuttles back and forth to the patch every day." Reservations required
Hours: Monday through Friday: 10am, 10:30am, 11am, 11:30am 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 3:30pm, 4pm, and 4:30pm; Saturday and Sunday: Every 20 minutes between 9am and 4pm

Patterson Farm
Address: 3060 Millbridge Road, China Grove, NC, (704) 857-5242
Attractions: Fall Fun on the Farm Weekends include a bee-themed corn maze, barnyard visits, pumpkin patch and more. Tickets may be purchased here.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Sunday: 12 p.m. until 6 p.m.

READ MORE: Best Charlotte-Area Pumpkin Patches 2020

The largest pumpkin ever recorded in the U.S. was grown by Steve Geddes. The pumpkin that the Boscawen, New Hampshire, man grew in 2018 tipped the scale at 2,528 pounds to win the top prize at the Deerfield Fair. The impressively sized pumpkin was 165 pounds heavier than the previous U.S. record-holder.

Neither came close to besting world record-holder, Mathia Willemijn, whose 2016 record still stands for the 2,624.6-pound pumpkin that won that year’s European Weigh-Off in Germany, according to Guinness World Records, which describes the gourd as “car-sized.”

Whether pumpkins are in the 2,500- or 2,600-pound range, it’s a lot of pumpkin.

Ask the kiddos this: What else found in nature weighs that much?

A hippopotamus living in the wild can weigh about 5,800 pounds, but some of the smaller hippos weigh about the same as Geddes’ pumpkin.

The largest and heaviest bovine species is the Asian gaur. The bulls can weigh up to 2,500 pounds, but cows weigh significantly less. Another fun fact that separates these cattle from many other species: Both male and female gaurs have horns.

The world and U.S. record-setting pumpkins both are larger than the Australian saltwater crocodile, the largest croc species in the world. They can weigh more than 2,200 pounds.

And here’s another fun fact from Bengtson’s, a Chicago-area pumpkin patch, and perhaps a lesson in agriculture for the spring: The health of the vine matters.

“If you are attempting to grow a massive pumpkin, you should realize that the entire vine is working toward that same goal,” the site says. “All of the water and sunlight received by the leaves and roots are being dedicated to the single pumpkin.”

Making sure the pumpkin has room to grow is another key. Growers should tear out roots that may be near the pumpkin while taking care not to detach the stem.

Once the pumpkin reaches the size of a softball, remove all the other pumpkins from the vine so all the plant’s energy is directed at creating a prize-winning pumpkin.

SEE ALSO:

• Parents Wary Of Trick-Or-Treating Amid Pandemic: NC Patch Survey
• Charlotte Pumpkin Patch Bounty: How About From-Scratch Pie?
  
• When Is The First Day Of Fall 2020? Events In Charlotte