Trending
2,554-pound pumpkin breaks record for heaviest in U.S. history
The previous U.S. record was set by a man from New Hampshire in 2018 after growing a 2,528-pound pumpkin
October 4, 2022 8:01pm
Updated: October 4, 2022 8:01pm
A New York man set the record for the heaviest pumpkin in the history of the United States with a squash that weighed 2,554 pounds.
The record for heaviest pumpkin in the U.S. was set on Saturday at the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence, New York, about 20 miles east of Buffalo.
The pumpkin’s caretaker, Scott Andrusz of Williamsville, said he raised the giant squash in hopes of breaking the New York state record of a 2,517-pound pumpkin.
“Give it all the best stuff you can think of to give it, all the fertilizer, kelp, worm castings, chicken refuse,” Andrusz told Gothamist. “And a ton of water. Every time she’s thirsty you gotta go give her a drink.”
Andrusz said that he had a giant pumpkin ready to compete for the record last year, but it, unfortunately, cracked right before the harvest.
To achieve his latest monster-size squash, Andrusz said he had to spend countless nights protecting it from raccoons or other animals that were ready to take a bite of it.
“All the animals and critters seem to love this pumpkin more than anything in the world. They all want to eat on it. And I have cats come and try to scratch it, they think it’s a big couch,” he said.
The previous U.S. record for heaviest pumpkin was awarded to a man from New Hampshire in 2018 after growing a 2,528-pound pumpkin, according to the Boston Globe.
Despite weighing a shocking 2,554 pounds, Andrusz’s pumpkin did not break the world record. The world’s heaviest pumpkin record was given to Stefano Cutrupi from Tuscany, Italy after he grew a 2,703-pound squash in September 2021, according to the Guinness World Records.
Heaver Recorded Pumpkin in the World
— ⛧Paganwolfwitch ⸸⸸⛧ NO DM⛔ #nsfw (@Paganwolfwitch_) October 2, 2022
A farmer from Italy has just smashed the heaviest pumpkin record, with a specimen that tipped the scales at 1,226 kg (2,702 lb 13.9) pic.twitter.com/6DZFyZdaHu
Andrusz’s record-breaking pumpkin will be on display at Clarence’s Great Pumpkin Farm Fall Festival until October 16.
