Minnesota Man Grows 2,389 Pound Pumpkin and Wins $21,501!

A Minnesota man has once again proven he knows how to grow a really BIG pumpkin!

Travis Gienger took home the top prize at Half Moon Bay’s 53rd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California with a massive pumpkin weighing nearly 2,389 pounds.

According to the New York Post, Gienger hauled his enormous orange creation approximately 2,150 miles from Minnesota to California to compete in the annual event.

His giant gourd was worth quite a payday, earning him $21,501 in prize money.

Travis Gienger He is a landscape and horticulture teacher at Anoka Technical College.

The 2026 champion received $9 per pound for his pumpkin, along with a championship ring and other honors. Not a bad reward for months of gardening, careful attention and plenty of patience.

This wasn't Gienger's first time taking home the title, either.

The Minnesota pumpkin grower had previously won the prestigious competition four times, making him a familiar face in the world of competitive giant pumpkin growing.

While a pumpkin weighing nearly 2,389 pounds is certainly impressive, it still falls short of the official world record.

That record stands at a staggering 2,819 pounds, 4 ounces, set by twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton in England in 2025.

For most of us, growing a pumpkin big enough to carve for Halloween is a challenge. For Gienger, growing one that weighs as much as a small car is apparently just another successful gardening season!