California engineer wins contest with pumpkin that weighs over 2,000lbs | California

A California engineer and gardening enthusiast won the grand prize at an annual pumpkin weigh-in contest in Northern California after growing a giant pumpkin weighing 2,346 lbs (1,064 kg).

Brandon Dawson of Santa Rosa, Calif., clinched victory Monday at the 52nd World Pumpkin Championships in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

After being crowned this year’s winner, Dawson threw her arms in the air and sat her two children on top of the giant pumpkin, which weighed roughly the same as a small sedan or a large bison.

“My mind is kind of racing because I was in this position last year when I lost 6 lbs (3 kg),” he said in an interview.

Dawson, a manufacturing engineer at electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive, said he has been growing giant pumpkins for five years. He said the precise skills he acquired on the job helped him with proper watering and sunlight to help his pumpkins grow.

He said he enjoys involving his children in the process.

“We love spending time in the area and watching things grow,” Dawson said of her two-year-old son and four-year-old daughter.

“My four-year-old can now really pay attention to the growth process,” she added, especially since giant pumpkins can grow 50 to 70 lbs (23 to 32 kg) per day.

The pumpkin champion won the $20,000 prize for growing the largest pumpkin.

Dawson’s pumpkin placed second in last year’s competition in Half Moon Bay when the winning pumpkin, grown by Minnesota horticulture teacher Travis Gienger, came in at 2,471 lbs (1,121 kg).

Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, set the world record for heaviest pumpkin at the California competition in 2023 when he weighed his giant pumpkin at 2,749 lbs (1,247 kg). Gienger’s pumpkin was damaged earlier this season and was unable to compete in this year’s competition in California.

Earlier this month, two brothers in England broke Gienger’s record with a gourd weighing 2,819 lbs (1,278 kg).