A pumpkin grown in Plainfield, Illinois, traveled all the way to a small Kentucky fairground and came home the biggest winner of the day. Phil Groenewold's shiny, orange, “leopard print” pumpkin tipped the scales at 2,492.5 pounds, taking the top spot in the pumpkin category at the first-ever Kentucky Giant Growers Bluegrass Championship weigh-off.
The event, held at the Hancock County Fairgrounds in the small town of Hawesville, drew growers hauling their biggest pumpkins and watermelons from across the country, according to wbkr.com. That outlet reported growers came from 14 states, while madisoncourier.com put the number at more than 14 states. Either way, it made for a packed field at the inaugural contest.
Groenewold's giant edged out Kentucky grower Josh Monin, whose 2,481-pound pumpkin had already broken his own state record from the previous year but still fell short of the Plainfield entry, per the same wbkr.com account. Across the top ten pumpkins weighed that day, the average came in at 1,506.15 pounds — a reminder of just how far ahead Groenewold's fruit sat above the pack.
How the Contest Stacked Up Against the World's Biggest
Even at about 1.25 U.S. tons, Groenewold's pumpkin remains well short of the current world record. According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest pumpkin ever recorded weighed 2,819 pounds 4 ounces when twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton presented it in Wargrave, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom last October. That pumpkin surpassed the previous record of 2,749 pounds, set by Travis Gienger in California in 2023, Guinness notes.
The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth's own list of Guinness-recognized entries, found at gpc1.org, also credits Stefano Cutrupi with a 2,702.9-pound pumpkin alongside Gienger's 2,749-pound record holder — giants that dwarf even the top entries seen in Hawesville this year.
Illinois has its own history in the giant-pumpkin world, though at a smaller scale than Kentucky's new contest. Theresa Miller of Stillman Valley holds the state record for the largest pumpkin grown by a woman, a 1,871-pound entry that took second place at the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers weigh-off in Minooka, according to wlbt.com. Years earlier, a weigh-off at Heap's Giant Pumpkin Farm in the same town crowned a 1,258-pound pumpkin as its top prize winner, as reported by news.wttw.com.
The Grind Behind a Two-Ton Pumpkin
Getting a pumpkin to nearly 2,500 pounds is not a matter of luck. The process for competitive growers involves careful seed selection, soil and water testing, plant management and months of sustained attention, the Madison Courier reports. During peak summer growing season, giant pumpkins can take about 140 days to mature and pack on 30 to 50 pounds a day, according to news.wttw.com — a growth rate that can reach about 60 pounds in a single day; ipmnewsroom.org also has reporting on giant-pumpkin growing.
Daily upkeep includes watering, fertilization, vine trimming and shielding the plant from the elements, per wlbt.com's earlier reporting on Illinois growers. Some competitors take it even further: prize-winning seeds can run hundreds of dollars apiece, and certain growers monitor their pumpkins on scales inside climate-controlled greenhouses wired to sensors, according to mprnews.org.
Separately, CBS Chicago reports that Groenewold's pumpkin broke an 11-year-old Illinois pumpkin record by 347 pounds. The entry ultimately made it to the finish line.
What's Next for the Winning Pumpkin
Groenewold's pumpkin took part in the Kentucky weigh-in.
For now, Hawesville's little fairground has already put itself on the map for growers well beyond Kentucky's borders. Organizers have set the next Kentucky Giant Growers Bluegrass Championship weigh-off for September 11, 2027, per wbkr.com. Some in the giant-pumpkin world are already looking further ahead: future competitions could feature even larger pumpkins.
