The heaviest pumpkin record now belongs to Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island. On October 10, his giant gourd weighed in at 3,156 pounds at the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh-Off, becoming the first pumpkin to top 3,000 pounds and securing recognition as the largest fruit ever recorded.
Wallace planted the seed on April 15 in a greenhouse on his property. Nearly six months later, the pumpkin shattered the previous benchmark of nearly 2,857 pounds, which had been set a week earlier by British grower Ian Paton. Officials confirmed Wallace’s new Guinness World Record at the Warren, Rhode Island event.
Wallace credits a lifetime in the hobby to his father, whom he describes as one of the early New England growers of giant pumpkins. He says the spectacle never gets old, noting that people are consistently astonished when they see a pumpkin of that scale.
“When you see one of these giants, everybody is just in awe,” Wallace told a national newspaper. “They want to touch it. They want to sit on it. They want to get photos with it.”
This is not Wallace’s first milestone. In 2006, he grew the first pumpkin to exceed 1,500 pounds at 1,502 pounds. In 2012, he became the first to break 2,000 pounds with a 2,009-pound entry. He said those achievements were significant, but this season’s result felt particularly meaningful after several years spent refining a more scientific approach.
Heaviest pumpkin record falls by a wide margin
Giant pumpkin records typically advance by 20 to 30 pounds. Wallace’s pumpkin exceeded Paton’s October 3 mark by nearly 300 pounds, an unusually large leap. A Belgian grower, Mathias Willemijns, previously held the title for nearly five years with a 2,624.6-pound pumpkin grown in 2016.
Despite the rivalry, Wallace and Paton remain close. Wallace said they speak frequently during the growing season, and that Paton encouraged him to try greenhouse cultivation. The controlled environment allowed Wallace to fine-tune water, temperature, and other variables. At its peak, the pumpkin reportedly added about 60 pounds a day, approaching 500 pounds in a single week.
Wallace also cited strong genetics and a collaborative grower community that shares techniques as key factors behind his success.
From the patch to the scale: heaviest pumpkin record in motion
For transport to Frerichs Farm in Warren, Wallace’s team used a harness and heavy rope to lift the pumpkin, then cushioned it with damp sheets, a comforter, and shrink wrap before placing it on a custom pallet on a flatbed truck. Competing against roughly 20 entrants, Wallace suspected his pumpkin might exceed 3,000 pounds, but he waited for the official reading instead of estimating in advance.
When the number was announced, spectators erupted, he said. The pumpkin is now touring festivals in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and is slated to become a jack-o’-lantern before ultimately heading to a compost pile.
Wallace plans to save and donate seeds to pumpkin-growing clubs around the world for fundraising auctions. As for what comes next, he said he will let others aim for the top mark for a while. If someone surpasses his result, he plans to return to the chase. For readers interested in other feats of endurance and perspective, You Can See Everything reframes truth in a year-defining doc explores a different kind of record-setting journey.