WHEATLAND, Calif. – A giant pumpkin grower from Oregon shattered the state record at the National Pumpkin Weigh Off in Wheatland, taking home a $15,000 prize.
Jim Sherwood’s massive pumpkin weighed in at a staggering 2,613 pounds, breaking the previous pumpkin weight record of 2,469 pounds held by Steve Daletas since 2018.
Sherwood’s pumpkin is the heaviest to-date in this year’s competition season in the U.S. The grower has been cultivating giants for 25 years.
“I’m thrilled,” Sherwood said. “That pumpkin gave me quite the ride. Based on its shape I didn’t think it would last.”
Sherwood nicknamed his winning pumpkin “SpongeBlob.” He thanked his Oregon crew who made the trek with him to the weigh off at Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm.
National Pumpkin Weigh Off
Mike Alves of Chico took home second place with a 2,359-pound giant. His pumpkin beat his previous personal best by more than 650 pounds and became the heaviest California-grown pumpkin ever at the National Pumpkin Weigh Off.
“I doubled the size of my patch this year, and with the help of other growers, good soil health and a lot of dedication, here we stand,” Alves said. “When they start growing 50 to 60 pounds a day, it’s pretty amazing.”
The National Pumpkin Weigh Off offered the world’s highest prize pool at more than $100,000. The prize pool included a $75,000 prize for the world’s first pumpkin over 3,000 pounds.
The top 20 pumpkins won cash prizes totaling more than $35,000. The current world record pumpkin is 2,819 pounds, grown last year by the Paton brothers of England.
Seven additional giant vegetable categories were judged and awarded cash prizes, including bushel gourd, long gourd, tomato, sunflower, watermelon, field pumpkin and marrow.
Chris Asbury of Bayside broke the California marrow record with a 102-pound squash.
The weigh off opened with the Future Farmers category, where 9 youth ages 7 to 17 entered their giant pumpkins. Oren Muller of Guinda, age 15, took home the top prize of $1,000 for his 1,229-pound giant.
Volunteers from the California Pumpkin Growers Club ran the weigh off. The club is part of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the international organization which sets standards for competitive weigh offs held around the world.
“The goal of the California Pumpkin Growers Club is to promote the growing of giant pumpkins and other vegetables through friendly competitions and through education of the non-growing public about what it takes to grow these giants,” said Brian Myers, chairman of the California Pumpkin Growers Club.
Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm opened to the public in 1973 as a place for local students to experience an agriculture field trip and has grown to a regional destination with more than 400,000 guests visiting annually.
“When the opportunity to host one of the most prestigious agricultural contests in the world presented itself two years ago, we gave a resounding yes,” said Wayne Bishop, owner of Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm. “It’s just the perfect fit for our business, our passion and our ag-based community. Standing on the stage with kids who spent their summer growing a giant pumpkin was absolutely heartwarming.”
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain was the weigh off’s title sponsor.
Event organizers aim to get more adults and youth growing giant pumpkins, with resources available at www.pumpkinweighoff.com.