‘Tis the season for pumpkin carving, and of course, the bigger the better! Farmers all over the world spend the better part of the year carefully harvesting their squash to hopefully end up with the year’s record breaker. This year, Jim Bryson from Quebec takes the pumpkin cake with a giant squash weighing in at almost a ton. The 1,818 pound behemoth has travelled all the way to New York and is now on view at the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, currently being carved into the spookiest zombie creation ever!
Bryson, who only started growing pumpkins four years ago was amazed that his gourd was the biggest. “I never dreamt I had a chance at setting a world record,” he told the New York Daily News. But records don’t come easily; he revealed his recipe for success was a tiresome one. He first soaked the seeds in a wet towel back in April. They began to sprout in only two days! Then he moved them to a greenhouse until the weather warmed, then took down the walls to let the vines spread where they may. His daughter Kelsey helped pollinate the flowers by hand and later chopped off most of them so the squash could focus on growing in one area.
At its peak, the pumpkin was gaining 40 pounds a day!
The massive pumpkin and the two runners-up from California and Pennsylvania will be on view until October 30th. All three will be whittled and chopped by carver-extraordinaire, Ray Villafane, currently known for his spooky designs on the Food Network’s “Halloween Wars.” His planned sketch reveals a creepy zombie scene that will put us all in the haunting Halloween mood!
